Robert Mugabe has been the leader of Zimbabwe in southern Africa since 1980 and is the country's only leader since it gained independence from Britain. He was declared victor for his seventh term as president of Zimbabwe on Saturday, August 3, according to the head of the country's Election Commission. Allegations of voter fraud have surfaced for this most recent vote, and tensions were already high due to a troubled 2008 vote. That election left Mugabe as the only candidate after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai dropped out amid election fraud, violence and arrests targeting his party and supporters.
Harare, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- South African President Jacob Zuma congratulated Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe on his re-election, urging opposition groups Sunday to accept the results of "the successful harmonised elections."
Zuma's stance appears to be at odds with the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, all of whom have called into question Wednesday's presidential and primary polls.
Zimbabwe's election commission said 89-year-old Mugabe won 61% of the vote, besting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's 34%, to lead the nation for another five years. Mugabe has been the only leader an independent Zimbabwe has ever known.
Tsvangirai, 61, called the balloting "a fraudulent and a stolen election" -- and said he plans to mount a court challenge.
Mugabe win; Zimbabwe prospects dim
Will of the people?
In his statement Sunday, Zuma said all parties should accept the election's results because "election observers reported it to be an expression of the will of the people."
Election observers and foreign officials raised doubts Saturday about the way the election was conducted, though some of them noted it was peaceful -- in contrast to the last election, in 2008, where post-vote violence left at last 200 people dead and thousands injured.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a statement Saturday, criticized "the culmination of a deeply flawed process."
"In light of substantial irregularities reported by domestic and regional observers, the United States does not believe the results announced today represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people," Kerry said.
Credibility questioned
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, meanwhile, commended the peaceful nature of the vote, but expressed concern over how it was conducted.
The reported irregularities "call into serious question the credibility of the election," Hague said.
On Sunday, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr called for a do-over.
"These appear to have disenfranchised large numbers of voters and raised doubts about the credibility of the election results," he said in a statement.
"Given our doubts about the results, Australia calls for a re-run of the elections based on a verified and agreed voters roll."
With his controversial win, Mugabe is set to see his time in power extended to 38 years.
Long reign
Tsvangirai ran unsuccessfully against Mugabe in 2002 and was later arrested several times, jailed on charges of treason and severely beaten in police custody.
He faced off against Mugabe in the last election and won more votes than the president, though not enough to avoid a runoff.
Violence broke out, and Tsvangirai then pulled out of the runoff claiming widespread voter intimidation and the torture, mutilation and murder of his supporters.
Months later, after international pressure and successful negotiations, Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed an agreement giving Tsvangirai the post of prime minister in a Mugabe-led government. It has been an uneasy coalition ever since, one that included a brief boycott of the coalition by the MDC over the arrest of a party leader.
Journalist Columbus S. Mavhunga reported this story from Harare, and Faith Karimi reported and wrote from London.
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Mugabe jokingly puts up his fists for the media in Geneva in 1974.
Joshua Nkomo, founder of the Zimbabwe African People's Union, and Mugabe have a drink in 1978.
Mugabe speaks with his wife in Salisbury in 1980.
NBC News moderator Bill Monroe, from left, Newsday's Les Payne, the Chicago Sun Times' Robert Novak and NBC News' Garrick Utley speak with Mugabe during an episode of "Meet the Press" in 1980.
Mugabe meets with President of France Francois Mitterand in Paris in 1982.
Mugabe and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi in 1983.
Mugabe, in military uniform, speaks at an election rally at Tsholotsho in 1985.
Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke speaks with Mugabe in 1986.
At a Commonwealth of Nations meeting in London in 1986. Back row, from left, Rajiv Gandhi, Brian Mulroney, S.S. Ramphal, Robert Hawke and Mugabe. Front row, from left: Margaret Thatcher, Lynden Pindling and Kenneth Kaunda.
Mugabe with Cuban President Fidel Castro in September 2005 in Havana.
Mugabe addresses the 65th session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in September 2010.
Mugabe cuts his birthday cake, with wife Grace and son Bellarmine Chatunga, during celebrations for his 87th birthday in February 2011 in Harare.
Mugabe and his wife arrive at the John Paul II Beatification Ceremony in May 2011.
South African President Jacob Zuma meets with Mugabe in June 2011 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Mugabe addresses world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2012 in New York.
Mugabe and his wife, Grace, attend the inauguration Mass for Pope Francis on March 19 at the Vatican.
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