Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak took the oath of office today for a fifth six-year term after winning the country's first contested presidential elections earlier this month.
Mr Mubarak (77), who has been in power since 1981, took the oath in parliament in the presence of visiting Libyan leader Col Muammar Gadafy.
Mr Mubarak won his first four terms in referendums after parliament chose him as the sole candidate.
The election commission said Mr Mubarak won 89 per cent of the vote on September 7th on a 23 per cent turnout. His closest rival was Ayman Nour of the liberal Ghad (Tomorrow) Party with 8 per cent.
Mr Nour, who has refused to recognise the official results because of reports of widespread abuses, attended the ceremony as a member of parliament but did not speak.
Mr Nour had planned to go straight from parliament to court for a hearing in his trial on forgery charges which he says are fabricated.
Mr Mubarak swore to uphold the republican system of government, respect the constitution and protect the interests of the people and the independence and safety of the country. Gunners then fired a 21-gun salute for him outside the parliament building.
In his campaign, Mr Mubarak said he aimed to create 4.5 million jobs over the next six years, raise public-sector salaries and replace Egypt's emergency law with anti-terrorism legislation.