Burundi’s ruling party candidate won a presidential election held last week, securing 68.72% of the vote, the electoral commission said on Monday.

Evariste Ndayishimiye, a retired general, will take over from President Pierre Nkurunziza, after he beat the main opposition candidate Agathon Rwasa, and five others, avoiding a runoff by securing more than 50% of the vote.

Mr. Ndayishimye defeated six challengers in the race to succeed current president, Pierre Nkurunziza. Nkurunziza, who has been in power since 2005, decided not to stand for a fourth term. Ndayishimiye had been dubbed as Nkurunziza’s “heir”.

The main opposition candidate, Agathon Rwasa, president of the National Council for Liberty (CNL), has already accused the government of “cheating” and “pure manipulation”, saying the results were “fanciful”. However, he also says he has no plans to protest the results at this time and would settle for an appeal to Burundi’s Constitutional Court.

Ndayishimiye is expected to be sworn in for a seven-year term in late August when Nkurunziza’s term ends.

The May 20th election could potentially be Burundi’s first democratic transfer of power in its 58-year-history.