DHAKA: Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is to be sworn in as Egypt’s new president after winning by a landslide in May’s elections.

Security forces have been deployed at key locations around the Cairo in preparation for the ceremony at the Supreme Constitutional Court.

The retired field marshal overthrew president Mohammed Mursi last July. He has since been locked in a battle with Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which urged a boycott of the elections.

Liberal and secular activists, including the 6 April youth movement which was prominent in the 2011 revolution that ousted long-serving president Hosni Mubarak, also shunned the 26-28 May poll in protest at the curtailing of civil rights.

Sisi, 59, secured 96.9% of the vote and his sole challenger, left-winger Hamdeen Sabahi, received only 3.1%, according to the official results.

However, the turnout was less than 50%.

Despite this crowds are expected to flock to Cairo’s Tahrir Square to celebrate his victory, the BBC reports.

In a televised speech after the poll, Sisi said he wanted ‘freedom’ and ‘social justice’, echoing the slogan of the 2011 revolution.

He said it was now ‘time to work’, adding ‘Our co-operation in work and construction will lead to prosperity and luxury’.

BDST: 1228 HRS, JUNE 8, 2014