Ukraine to swear in new president on June 7

KIEV - Ukrainian president-elect Petro Poroshenko will be sworn in on June 7, according to a bill passed by the parliament on Tuesday.

The document, which was backed by 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly, envisages that the inauguration ceremony will be held at the parliament building at 10 am local time (0700 GMT) Saturday.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities were planning to hold the swear-in ceremony for the newly-elected president at Independence Square in central Kiev, the main site of anti-government protests that led to the ouster of the previous government.

On Monday, the country's Central Electoral Commission said businessman Poroshenko had won the presidential election in the first round, garnering 54.7 percent of the vote.

The early election was called three months after former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February and fled to Russia.

Poroshenko is a major supporter of the anti-government rallies, which led to the dismissal of Yanukovych.