Mugabe sworn in as Zimbabwe's president

HARARE, Zimbabwe, June 29 (UPI) -- Robert Mugabe was sworn in for a another presidential term Sunday after officially winning Zimbabwe's disputed runoff election.

Mugabe was greeted by a 21-gun salute and military jet fly-by during the ceremony at his state residence in Harare after officially winning all 10 provinces with 85.5 percent of the vote, which opponents note included many spoiled ballots and other problems, CNN reported Sunday.

Mugabe's chief opponent, Movement for Democratic Change party candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, withdrew from the race because of escalating violence and intimidation in the run-up to last week's vote. He was invited but declined to attend Mugabe's swearing-in.

MDC officials claim up to 80 of its supporters were killed by backers of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in the weeks before the presidential runoff, creating an atmosphere Tsvangirai said was too volatile to yield a fair vote.

Many world leaders agreed and urged Mugabe to delay or cancel the election, but the election proceeded with only his name on the ballot. Observers from Pan-African Parliament mission told CNN the election results were "not credible."