CAIRO , 28 September 2005— Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak vowed to deliver on pledges for reform when he was sworn in yesterday for a fifth term in office after sweeping to victory in Egypt’s first contested presidential poll. “I will work with the utmost determination toward the implementation of the program I proposed during the electoral campaign,” Mubarak said after taking the oath of office in a ceremony in parliament.

“This election was not the end, what is important now is to realize the aspirations of the people and march forward. We will do this with an unalterable determination to pursue reform.” Canons were fired from the Parliament compound after Mubarak was sworn in, marking the beginning of his fifth six-year term at the helm of the Arab world’s most populous country following the Sept. 7 election.

Under pressure at home and abroad, the 77-year-old Mubarak, the region’s longest serving leader after Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, has pledged to embark on greater democratic reform. Qaddafi was in Cairo for Mubarak’s swearing-in. Mubarak, who has ruled under a state of emergency imposed after the 1981 assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat, swept to a landslide victory in the country’s first multi-candidate poll.

Critics of the veteran leader have pointed out that unemployment is at least twice as high as the official 10 percent and argued that his plan to create jobs and raise wages was unrealistic. The Egyptian government handed in its resignation, but Mubarak issued a decree asking the Cabinet to continue until a reshuffle after the parliamentary elections in November.

Many of the nine defeated candidates in the September vote challenged the results, complaining of fraud and other irregularities, in protests which were backed by local non-governmental organizations which had monitored the polls. Even the reform that led to the opening up of the presidential contest was criticized, with many candidates barred from standing while others refused to put anyone forward saying the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

After meeting Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on Monday, new US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes reminded Mubarak of his pledge to lift emergency laws, but Nazif told her it would take time.

When the government reshuffle takes place, pro-Western reformists within the ruling National Democratic Party and headed by Mubarak’s son Gamal seem likely to get some key posts.