Egypt's Mubarak sworn in for fifth term

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was sworn in on Tuesday for a fifth six-year term in an extraordinary session of the People's Assembly.

"I swear by Almighty God to uphold the Republican system with loyalty, to respect the Constitution and the law, to look after the interests of the people fully and to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of the motherland," Mubarak said, citing the constitutional oath.

A 21-gun salute was fired to congratulate the Egyptian leader on his new presidential term.

Mubarak then delivered a keynote speech broadcast live on local television channels.

Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi attended the swear-in ceremony along with hundreds of Egyptian lawmakers, government ministers and foreign diplomats.

The 77-year-old Mubarak won Egypt's first contested presidential elections on Sept. 7 with 88.6 percent of the votes as the candidate of the ruling National Democratic Party, with nine of his rivals sharing the rest of votes.

Under an constitutional amendment initiated by Mubarak and adopted in a referendum in May, the direct multi-candidate presidential elections replaced the old system under which a presidential candidate chosen by the parliament was put to a referendum for approval.

Source: Xinhua