A defiant President Robert Mugabe has shrugged off Western condemnation of the election that returned him to power, saying the Zimbabwean people had "dealt a stunning blow to imperialism."
Mr Mugabe said the people had resolved that "never again shall Zimbabwe be a colony."
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President Robert Mugabe makes his inauguration speech today Photo: Reuters
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He also vowed to redouble efforts to correct the "monstrous colonial injustice" that saw most of Zimbabwe's fertile land controlled by a small minority of white farmers, placing his land reform program at the center of an economic recovery plan.
Mr Mugabe renews accusations against Britain of having backed its "protege", opposition candidate Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.
The former union leader had been tipped to win in a free and fair vote, but the polls were preceded by weeks of violence, and the election was marred by widespread irregularities documented by observers.
The 50-year-old Mr Tsvangirai reiterated on state television that he did not accept the result of the vote.
His stance has been backed by Britain, the European Union, the United States, local Zimbabwean observers, and the Commonwealth observer team, which issued a categorical condemnation of the polls.
The US and EU ambassadors in Zimbabwe were not invited to the inauguration and the MDC's 57 members of parliament stayed away.
African countries, as well as the Organization of African Union and the Southern African Development Community, have on the whole accepted the vote with few reservations. Mr Mugabe thanked his African supporters and dismissed the broad Western verdict that the election was irrevocably flawed.
"It's only free and fair when... we who count much more than you (Europeans) say that we have won," Mr Mugabe said.
Mr Mugabe said further land reforms would foster the people's economic empowerment, increase agricultural production and help create jobs.
Zimbabwe is facing its most severe economic crisis since independence, with soaring unemployment and food shortages that have left more than half a million people in need of emergency assistance.
AFP