Zimbabwe's ruling party appears headed for election victory

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party has secured a majority in parliament, election officials said Wednesday.

In the first Zimbabwean election since long-serving President Robert Mugabe was ousted, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's party is poised to win.

Unofficial results show Zanu-PF has won 110 of 210 seats in the National Assembly's lower house -- and the MDC Alliance, ruled by front-runner candidate Nelson Chamisa, has 41 seats, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Both men are among 23 candidates in the race. The winner needs more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright and avoid a runoff in September.

Official results of Monday's vote still need to be certified.

The opposition party said the vote was rigged in favor of a party that's been in power since the southern Africa country gained independence in 1980.

Mugabe, who led the country from its 1980 independence, was ousted in November after being blamed for ordering violence against his own citizens, squashing free speech and rigging elections. Mnangagwa was sworn into office as his replacement.