BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali's new president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita took the oath of office Wednesday, promising to help unify the country after a rebellion, a coup and an Islamic insurgency plunged the long democratic nation into near ruin.
Keita emerged as the overwhelming victor of the first election held since mutinous soldiers overthrew longtime President Amadou Toumani Toure in March 2012. In the aftermath, al-Qaida-linked jihadists seized power across northern Mali and were only ousted by a French-led military offensive earlier this year.
After taking the oath of office, Keita thanked the international community for its support in retaking the north from the hands of extremists and vowed to prioritize national unity.
"I swear before God and the Malian people to loyally protect the republican regime, to fulfill my functions in the best interest of the people, to preserve democratic gains, to protect national unity, the independence of the homeland and Mali's territorial integrity," Keita said.
While he officially became Mali's president on Wednesday, a formal inauguration ceremony is to take place in two weeks' time. World leaders, including French President Francois Hollande, are expected to take part.
Keita won Mali's Aug. 11 presidential runoff with 77.6 percent of the vote. His opponent, Soumaila Cisse, conceded defeat even before those results were announced.
Many voters said they thought Keita was best equipped from an initial field of 28 candidates to reunite the nation after more than a year of turmoil. Once he names his government, though, he will have only two months to resume talks with the northern Tuareg rebel group known as the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad, the name they call their homeland.
Yahoo! News