Liberia's Johnson-Sirleaf sworn in for second presidential term

Jan 16, 2012, 13:26 GMT

Monrovia - Liberia's Nobel-winning president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, was sworn in Monday to a second term in office at a ceremony in the capital, Monrovia.

Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female leader, was cheered on by an estimated 3,000 supporters at the inauguration in the city's Capitol building.

She won a second term in office in November, scooping more than 90 per cent of the vote after the main opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) dropped out, citing 'voting irregularities.'

International observers said the poll was largely free and fair.

Monday's ceremony, which is reported to have cost the cash-strapped government 1.2 million dollars, was held at the city's Capitol building, a replica of that in Washington.

About 15 heads of state, including those from Senegal and Mali, were on the guest list. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also arrived early Monday for the ceremony.

Clinton, who is on a two-day tour of West Africa, was later due to cut the ribbon for a new US embassy building in Monrovia, before continuig her trip to Cote d'Ivoire, Togo and Cape Verde.

Inauguration activities began in Monrovia on Sunday, with a women's rights forum at the city's main stadium. Johnson-Sirleaf and peace campaigner Leymah Gbowee were awarded Nobel prizes in October for peace-building and women's rights activism.

The programme is set to continue until late Monday, when four inauguration balls will be held around the capital.

UN peacekeepers and riot police were deployed on the streets of Monrovia early Monday, after the opposition CDC said it might protest the inauguration.

The main thoroughfare between the airport and city was closed, in order to allow high-profile inauguration guests to travel to the ceremony.