Left-wing supporters of South Africa's new governing party leader have called for no revenge to be taken on allies of losing candidate President Thabo Mbeki.
Jacob Zuma defeated Mr Mbeki at an acrimonious African National Congress (ANC) conference which split the party.
Trade union leaders and the South African Communist Party (SACP) appealed for an end to inter-party squabbles.
A BBC correspondent says South Africa now has two centres of power - Mr Mbeki as president and Mr Zuma as ANC leader.
"This is not a moment for triumphalism"
Mr Zuma is now in a strong position to become the country's next president when Mr Mbeki's term ends in 2009.
Of the 3,834 voting delegates, Mr Zuma received 2,329 to Mr Mbeki's 1,505.
Mr Zuma and his supporters also won a clean sweep of five other top positions in the ANC.
Correspondents say it has been the most divisive contest in the long history of the ANC - for some this is a sign of a healthy democracy in action while others fear the split in the ANC could spell trouble for South Africa.
Vision
"This is not a moment for triumphalism or factional revenge," Blade Nzimande, the SACP secretary general, said.
Jacob Zuma supporters react to his election win The challenge of unity
"These inclinations will simply plunge us into another cycle of inward-focused manoeuvring. Let us devote our energies to uniting around the tasks of transformation," the South African Press Association quotes him as saying.
After the announcement, Mr Mbeki embraced Mr Zuma and clasped his rival's hand in congratulation.
The BBC's Peter Biles at the conference in Polokwane says the public show of unity was a powerful signal to the rank and file that they needed to heal the rift and get on with the business of running the country.
Mr Zuma is due to address the ANC on Thursday, at the end of its conference, when he is expected to lay out his vision for the future of the country.
His supporters believe he will do more to reduce poverty in South Africa.
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Mr Mbeki's business and international investor-friendly economic policies have been achieved against a backdrop of close to 40% unemployment.
Durban City Manager Michael Sutcliffe says Mr Zuma's win will take the party back to its roots.
"Our movement is a movement of the people in the end and I think what this has signalled is that we went too far ahead in focusing on making sure what we did appeared to be right rather than making sure we truly represent the poor," he told the BBC.
Land
Correspondents say another issue that has caused festering resentment in the country is the issue of land redistribution.
ANC LEADER
In 2004, the Landless People's Movement accused the government of failing to deliver on its promise to redistribute 30% of the country's agricultural land from 60,000 white farmers.
Since apartheid ended, approximately 2% has been transferred.
Once close allies, Mr Zuma and Mr Mbeki fell out in 2005 when Mr Zuma was sacked as deputy president over corruption allegations.
He could still face corruption charges in connection with a multi-million dollar arms deal.
The case against Mr Zuma was thrown out by a judge last year. He was also acquitted of rape charges, which he said were politically motivated.
Before the vote, former President Nelson Mandela said he was saddened by "the nature of the differences currently in the organisation".
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