Turkmenistan president sworn in for second term.

AFP - Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was sworn in Friday for a second term after winning elections in the isolated ex-Soviet state with more than 97 percent of the vote.
Berdymukhamedov appeared to take his distance from Turkmenistan's late dictator Saparmurat Niyazov in the lavish inauguration ceremony, making no mention of his predecessor's eccentric rule which lasted to his death in 2006.
"I, Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich Berdymukhamedov, assuming the office of president of the neutral state of Turkmenistan, swear to abide by the Constitution and by Turkmen law," he declared as he took the oath of office.
Berdymukhamedov conspicuously excluded a phrase about working under the inspiration of Niyazov that was included in the oath he read on taking office after his first election victory in early 2007.
He also did not repeat his gesture from five years ago of placing to his forehead a copy of the Rukhnama -- a spiritual guidebook for the Turkmen nation supposedly written by Niyazov which was given almost sacred status under the latter's rule.
The grand ceremony at The Palace of the Soviets in Ashgabat was attended by some 3,000 officials and included dozens of posters from supporters reading "We Support the President's Course."
The festive event saw Berdymukhamedov, 54, bow down on one knee before the Turkmen flag and kiss its corner before being handed the official certificate of president by the head of the central election commission.
He also placed his hand on the Koran and the constitution.
Berdymukhamedov won 97.14 percent of the vote in February 12 polls against seven rivals who were all loyal members of the elite and none of whom made the slightest effort to criticise his record.
His nearest competitor mustered barely over one percent of the vote.
In keeping with the harmonious tone of the election campaign, all of Berdymukhamedov's seven former competitors were present at the swearing-in ceremony and greeted him warmly, an AFP correspondent said.
The president in his first term embarked on cautious reform to dismantle the bizarre legacy of his predecessor, whose excesses extended to erecting a golden statue of himself in the capital that rotated to face the sun.
But critics say his stabs at change -- known as the "Era of Rebirth" in Turkmenistan -- has amounted to mere window dressing and accuse Berdymukhamedov of creating his own personality cult.
In his oath of office, Berdymukhamedov also vowed to be "the guarantor of the rights of all the citizens of the Turkmen state."
But rights groups have been vehemently critical of Turkmenistan's record under Berdymukhamedov, with Amnesty International saying ahead of the polls that Turkmenistan was using torture in jails and restricting freedom of expression.
It said rights activists Annakurban Amanklychev and Sapardurdy Khadzhiev, convicted in 2007 of firearms charges, were still in custody while dissident Gulgeldy Annaniyazov has been held in incommunicado detention since being jailed in 2008.
Berdymukhamedov also vowed that the people of Turkmenistan would bring glory as descendants of the mythical mediaeval Turkic leader Oghuz Khan whom the country promotes as the father of the Turkmen nation.