At least 100,000 people from across the region gathered in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital, for Saturday's ceremony, Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reported from the event, describing the atmosphere as "carnival-like".
Some 20 heads of state, ambassadors and international diplomats also attended, including Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president and UN chief Ban Ki Moon.
"For many people this is an opportunity to begin a new chapter in the history of the country" Al Jazeera's Ndege said.
"In 50 years of independence from France this country has known 30 years of dictatorship and 20 years of ongoing political crisis, meaning that it hasn't really been able to assert itself as a democracy."
The stately ceremony should have taken place six months ago after Ouattara was declared the winner of last year's presidential election.
But he was prevented from taking office by outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to cede power.
Gbagbo used the army to prevent Ouattara from leaving the hotel that had served as his campaign headquarters, forcing Ouattara to initially take the oath of office in a ceremony inside the hotel lobby attended only by his aides
No comments:
Post a Comment