Maithripala Sirisena sworn in as president

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(9 Jan 2015) New Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was sworn into office on Friday and vowed to curtail the powers amassed by his predecessor, who was swept aside in a stunning election upset. • Sirisena, a longtime political insider - and an ally of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa until just a few weeks ago - won the Thursday election by capitalising on Rajapaksa's unpopularity among the island nation's ethnic and religious minorities. • Sirisena had promised to change Sri Lanka's Constitution to drastically reduce the power of the president and return the country to a parliamentary system with a prime minister as its leader. • Sirisena also promised that he would not run again for president. • He took the oath of office with senior Supreme Court Justice Kanagasabapathy Sripavan, bypassing the country's chief justice, who was installed by Rajapaksa in a widely criticised move to expand his authority even more. • Crowds cheered Sirisena as he left the ceremony in a presidential motorcade with mounted guards. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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