Zambia's acting president Rupiah Banda has won a narrow victory over the country's opposition leader in elections following the death of the former president, the Associated Press reported.
Official results showed Banda had 718,359 votes, ahead of 683,150 for Michael Sata.
Banda, 72, was due to be sworn in later Sunday at a ceremony attended by other southern African leaders.
He has vowed to continue the free market economies of his popular predecessor Levy Mwanawasa, who died in August after a stroke. He will serve the remaining three years of Mwanawasa's five year term.
The economy dominated the election campaign as the impoverished country struggles to cope with the collapse in prices of its main export, copper.