Accra, 07 Jan - (ANA) -  Ghana's main opposition party has boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of President John Mahama following last month's disputed elections.  The New Patriotic Party (NPP) said Mr Mahama won the election fraudulently. Official results gave Mr Mahama 50.7% of the vote, enough to avoid a run-off against the NPP's Nana Akufo-Addo, who won 47.7%. Ahead of his inauguration, Mr Mahama called for unity in Ghana - seen as one of Africa's most stable democracies. Mr Mahama was Ghana's vice-president until the unexpected death of President John Atta Mills in July. He has served since then as acting president. In his speech, the president told Ghanaians: "I will not let you down," reports the Citi FM radio station. "The promises that I have made are the promises I intend to keep," he said. On Friday, Mr Mahama appealed to members of parliament to work together. Mr Mahama was sworn in before several African heads of state, including South Africa's President Jacob Zuma and Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan. Former President John Kufuor attended the ceremony, in defiance of the wishes of his party. Mr Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) said the elections were the most transparent the country had seen. International election observers described the 7 December poll as free and fair. Ghana's government says the presence of international leaders at the ceremony is an endorsement of the vote. Mr Mahama won by just over 300,000 votes, obtaining 5,574,761 ballots compared to Mr Akufo-Addo's 5,248,898. The NPP is disputing about 1,340,000 votes cast for Mr Mahama - enough to swing the outcome in favour of Mr Akufo-Addo. (ANA)

FA/ANA/07 January 2013----------