Special report:Worldwide reactions on election result in Belarus

    

Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko takes his oath of office during his inauguration ceremony in Minsk April 8, 2006. (Xinhua Photo/AFP)

MOSCOW, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, who was re-elected in last month's presidential election, was sworn in on Saturday for a third term in office.

    Lukashenko officially began his new five-year term as Belarussian president after an inauguration ceremony attended by the country's top officials in the Palace of the Republic in the capital Minsk.

    With his right hand on the Belarussian constitution, Lukashenko took oath of office, pledging to "serve the people of Belarus faithfully," the official BelTA news agency reported.

    After signing the statement on the oath of office, Central Election Commission Chairwoman Lidia Yermoshina handed over to Lukashenko a certificate of his election as president.

    Lukashenko, 51, received 83 percent of the vote in the March 19 election, the Central Election Commission said. The Belarussian leader was first elected in 1994 and got the go-ahead to run for a third term through a constitutional referendum in 2004. Enditem