Jovenel Moise has been sworn in as Haiti's new president, which brings an end to the protracted electoral crisis and political turmoil that had created a power vacuum in the impoverished Caribbean country.
Moise, from the center-right Tet Kale Party, also known as the PHTK, took the oath during a ceremony at the National Assembly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday.
According to Moise's transition team, the inaugural costs are about $1 million, a tighter budget than those of his predecessors.
Moise is a 48-year-old banana exporter who has never held a political office. He was former president Michel Martelly's hand-picked choice to lead the poorest country in the Americas.
The Caribbean island nation plunged into turmoil in the wake of the presidential election that was initially held in October 2015. However, the results were thrown out by authorities amid protests and allegations of massive fraud from opponents.
In February 2016, with Martelly's five-year term nearing its end, Haiti's parliament elected Jocelerme Privert, the president of the senate at the time, to be interim president.
Moise was declared the winner in January 2017 with 55 percent of the votes, but with a dismal turnout of just 21 percent.
The preliminary results of the election sparked violent demonstrations in Port-au-Prince, with losing candidates questioning the voting process.
Haiti is suffering from multiple political crises and economic woes. The new president is at the center of an unresolved money laundering probe. He denies any wrongdoing.
The country is still struggling to recover from the world's most significant cholera outbreak, with an estimated 30,000 cases expected this year.
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