Ex-army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has been sworn in as Egypt’s new president after a landslide win in May elections. He said his election was “a democratic, peaceful handover of power” that represented “a historic moment and turning point” for the nation.<\/p>\n
Security forces were deployed at key locations around the capital Cairo ahead of the ceremony at the Supreme Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
The retired field marshal overthrew President Mohammed Morsi last July.<\/p>\n
He has since been pursuing a crackdown on Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which urged a boycott of the elections.<\/p>\n
Liberal and secular activists, including the 6 April youth movement which was prominent in the 2011 revolution that ousted long-serving President Hosni Mubarak, also shunned the 26-28 May poll in protest at the curtailing of civil rights.<\/p>\n
‘No coup’<\/p>\n
Mr Sisi, 59, was sworn in for a four-year term at a ceremony shown live on television.<\/p>\n
He signed the document authorising him to take over power from interim president, Adly Mansour.<\/p>\n
Mr Sisi said: “Throughout its extended history over thousands of years, our country has never witnessed a democratic peaceful handover of power.”<\/p>\n
Mr Sisi’s victory came almost a year after he ousted Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi, following mass protests against his rule…<\/p>\n