John Kufuor was sworn in Sunday as Ghana's new president, ending almost two decades of rule by Jerry Rawlings and kicking off a new political era in the west African country.
The incoming head of state, draped in traditional Kente cloth, swore "to be faithful and true to the Republic of Ghana" and to uphold the constitution.
"I dedicate myself to the service and well-being of the people of Ghana ... and to do right to all manner of persons," Kufuor said in the ceremony outside Parliament House in Accra.
Also sworn in was Vice President Aliju Mahama, a Muslim, who took his oath of office in the name of Allah.
The event, in a forecourt festooned with the national colors of red, gold and green, was witnessed by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as well as his counterparts from Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo and South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
Obasanjo's predecessor Abdulsalami Abubakar, Nigeria's last military leader who paved the way for the return of democracy in their country in 1999, also attended.
Kufuor, backed by the longtime opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), defeated Rawlings' designated successor John Atta Mills, the incumbent vice president, in elections last month.
Rawlings, wearing a white smock symbolizing peace and neutrality, arrived at Kufuor's inauguration to the beat of a percussion band.
He did not speak, but wowed the assembled guests with sign language: he made a thumbprint sign signifying a vote for the NPP, then the corresponding sign for his own National Democratic Congress, before crossing his thumbs to signify unity.
The inauguration followed the swearing in of a new 200-strong parliament, including 100 members of the NPP.
In a ceremony at Parliament House, broadcast on national television, the politicians draped in Kente cloth swore their allegiance to the republic and constitution before taking the oath of office as members of parliament.
The body earlier unanimously elected Peter Ala Adjetey, a lawyer and former NPP chairman, as speaker.
Rawlings' NDC saw its comfortable 133-seat share of parliament shrink to 92 in December's historic elections.
The ceremonies on Sunday marked the first peaceful democratic transfer of power in Ghana since the west African country won independence from Britain in 1957.
Rawlings, who seized power in a 1981 coup, legitimized his rule in elections in 1992, and was returned to office in 1996, when he narrowly defeated Kufuor.
The constitution of 1992, which restored multi-party politics in Ghana, limits the presidency to two four-year terms -- ACCRA (AFP)
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