In his first public comments since officially being declared winner, the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) leader pledged to battle corruption and force public figures to declare their wealth.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Mwai Kibaki: 63% Uhuru Kenyatta: 30% Simeon Nyachae: 7% 5.4 million votes counted 10.5 million registered voters Source: Institute for Education and Democracy

Election diary

With ballots counted in nearly all 210 constituencies, the Institute for Education in Democracy - an organisation helping the electoral commission - said Mr Kibaki had won 63% of the vote, compared with 30% for the ruling Kanu party's candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr Kibaki's victory spells the end of four decades of rule by Kanu.

	:	Views of voters
Reaction to Kenyan results

Uhuru Kenyatta said he accepted the result.

"I now concede that Mwai Kibaki will be the third president of the Republic of Kenya.

"Kanu and I will respect him and his position in accordance with the constitution," he said.

'New era'

The opposition is also reported to have won an overwhelming majority in parliament.

Moi is the only president many Kenyans have known

"We shall start as leaders by showing our wealth, and as soon as parliament reconvenes we shall bring and pass the law which shall establish the anti-corruption authority," the 71-year-old Mwai Kibaki told cheering supporters.

Senior Narc politician Raila Odinga said: "The strong and common will of the people today has brought about a change for which we have toiled long days and nights."

"This is the dawn of a new era."

Correspondents say voters appear to have tired of the corruption, poverty and ailing economy that have blighted the lives of many Kenyans over recent years.

The majority can only remember one president - Mr Moi who has been in power since 1978 - and this election was eagerly awaited as an opportunity for far-reaching change.

In apparent criticism of his predecessor's style of government, Mr Kibaki said he would let ministers get on with their work.

"We do not want a president whose job is to bully others," he said.

Overwhelming support

In Mombasa, Kenya's second-largest city, ecstatic Narc supporters danced in the streets, chanting and displaying victory signs.

These elections mark an important step forward in the process of the development of democracy in Kenya Anders Wijkman, head of EU Observer Mission

Correspondents say expectations of their new leader are extremely high - and Mr Kibaki may be hard-pushed to fulfil these.

He has also promised to get rid of the political patronage which developed during the 39 years of Kanu rule since independence from Britain.

The BBC's Cathy Jenkins says this is crucial if he wants to regain the trust of the international financial institutions which have withheld much-needed loans to Kenya because of all-pervasive graft.

But first, Mr Kibaki has to ensure that his own coalition is ready to embrace change.

The alliance contains many old Kanu politicians who defected to the opposition just before the poll, and it is thought there may already be infighting over positions in the next government.

Kibaki congratulated

The international community praised Mr Kibaki's victory and the election process.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said: "The president-elect has made a commitment to ending corruption.

"This would be good for the Kenyan people and, of course, good for relations with the United States," he said.

The South African Government said it "commends the outgoing President Daniel arap Moi, the government, the political parties and the people of Kenya on the peaceful nature of the election".

Kenya's former colonial ruler, Britain, said it looked forward to working closely with Kenya's new government and leader, while Commonwealth election observers praised the "free, fair, peaceful and transparent" poll.