Berdymukhamedov New Turkmenistan President

Turkmenistan's central election commission declared Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov the winner of elections.

Turkmenistan's central election commission on Wednesday declared acting leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov the winner of a Feb. 11 presidential election.

"According to the result of 89.23 percent of all votes cast for him, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is elected president of Turkmenistan," Central Election Commission head Murad Karriyev told a session of the Central Asian state's People's Assembly.

The election pitted the acting leader against five lower profile candidates from the nation's only legal political party.

A number of senior U.S., Russian and Chinese officials were in the capital Ashgabat to attend his inauguration ceremony which was to follow the announcement.