Zimbabwe's Chamisa smells victory

Chamisa (left) and Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader said on Tuesday that election results from more than 10,000 polling stations showed his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had done "exceedingly well" but several observer groups said the contest was too close to call.

Nelson Chamisa, 40, and 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa were the main contenders in Monday's election, the first since long-ruling Robert Mugabe was removed in a bloodless coup in November.

Several civil society groups are collating results from 10,985 polling posts in parallel with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) but are not allowed to release results before the ZEC. A source at one group said it was too early to call a winner but it was looking "very close".

 ZEC, which said on Monday voter turnout had averaged 75 percent, will announce official results within five days.

"Awaiting ZEC to perform their constitutional duty to officially announce the people's election results and we are ready to form the next government," said Chamisa, who is vying to become Zimbabwe's youngest head of state, on his official Twitter feed.

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Tuesday that the ruling party was receiving "extremely positive" information from their representatives, a day after the first election since Robert Mugabe resigned following a bloodless coup.

Electoral officials said turnout at Monday's vote averaged 75 percent.

"It is our view that the high voter turnout is indicative of the sound voter education and publicity conducted on a receptive electorate," Priscilla Chigumba, electoral commission chief, told reporters in the capital, Harare.

More than five million people registered to take part in the closely contested elections.

The electoral body said 90 percent of the polling stations had opened on time by 8am local time