Turkmenistan has held an inauguration ceremony to officially start President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's second term in office.
Berdymukhammedov won the February 12 presidential election after receiving, according to Turkmen election officials, 97.14 percent of the vote in a race against seven challengers.
The ceremony took place in the newly built Palace of Congress that holds some 3,000 people.
Berdymukhammedov was first elected in February 2007 in Turkmenistan's first presidential election with more than one candidate running.
The former dentist and later health minister faced little competition in 2007 or the February 12 election, as his opponents were relatively unknown to the population in Turkmenistan.
Compiled from agency reports