DHAKA: Joko Widodo, the winner of Indonesia's presidential election in July, has been sworn in as the leader of the South East Asian nation.

Popularly known as Jokowi, the 53-year-old took the oath of office at a ceremony held at parliament in Jakarta, BBC reports.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott attended the inauguration.

Widodo, the former Jakarta governor, is the first president not from the military and political elite.

After reading the oath of office, he told Indonesians that "unity and working hand in hand are prerequisites for us to be a great nation. We will never become a great nation if we are stuck with division."

Widodo will later travel through the capital in a horse-drawn carriage to the palace with Vice-President Jusuf Kalla.

An outdoor concert featuring rock bands is scheduled for Monday night, with Mr Widodo expected to appear on stage.

About 24,000 police and military personnel have been deployed, but BBC Indonesia Editor Karishma Vaswani says that the mood in the capital is very upbeat.

BDST: 1231 HRS, OCT 20, 2014