Successor to Yemen's Saleh sworn in

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Longtime Yemeni vice-president Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi took the oath of office as president on Saturday ahead of formal handover of power by veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Hadi pledged to 'preserve the country's unity, independence and territorial integrity' in a swearing-in ceremony in parliament broadcast live by state television.

After taking the oath, the new president gave an address to the nation in which he vowed to open a dialogue with all political forces, restore security in the impoverished 'without which no economic development would be possible' and 'continue the battle against Al-Qaeda'.

The jihadist group has seized large swathes of southern and eastern Yemen, taking advantage of a decline in central government control during the months of political turmoil that led up to Saturday's ceremony.

Saleh, who arrived back in Sanaa from medical treatment in the United States earlier Saturday, is to formally transfer the reins of power in a ceremony at the presidential palace on Monday.

The handover will put the seal on a hard-won November transfer of power deal, under which Saleh agreed to step down in return for a controversial promise of immunity from prosecution over the deaths of hundreds of people during 10 months of protests against his rule in Sanaa since 1978.

Official results released late Friday from a Tuesday presidential election in which Hadi's name was the only one on the ballot paper gave him 99.8 per cent of valid votes cast.

According to the final results, 6,635,192 voters from an eligible electorate of 10,243,364 cast their ballots -- a turnout of 66 per cent -- the commission said.

Turnout reached 60 per cent nationwide but in formerly independent south Yemen it was less than 40 percent in most provinces in the face of attacks on polling stations by secessionist militants, electoral officials said.

Voter participation was also below 50 per cent in the mountains of the far north where Zaidi Shiite rebels called for a boycott.