ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)br br STORY: Veteran Tunisian politician Beji Caid Essebsi was sworn in as the country's new President on Wednesday (December 31), as part of the final step of a transition to democracy after an uprising that ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.br br The ceremony was held just over four years after the start of the protests which eventually unseated Ben Ali.br br Essebsi, a former Ben Ali official, beat rival Moncef Marzouki with 55.68 percent of the vote against 44.32 percent in a run-off ballot, the country's first free presidential elections, held earlier this month.br br A former parliament speaker under Ben Ali, Essebsi recast himself as an experienced technocrat.br br His secular party Nidaa Tounes - Call for Tunisia - profited from a backlash against the post-revolt Islamist government, which many voters blamed for turmoil after 2011.