Port-Au-Prince , Haiti ( CNN ) -- With expectations of change running high , former bad-boy pop star Michel Martelly was sworn in Saturday as the president of impoverished Haiti , still reeling from last year 's devastating earthquake . In a sign of the nation 's troubles , the electricity went out moments before the inauguration , prompting formally dressed dignitaries and guests -- including former U.S. President Bill Clinton and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe -- to fan themselves to stave off rising May heat . Immediately , Twitter lit up with posts calling the blackout a `` bad sign . '' Despite the outage , the ceremony proceeded before parliament and Martelly took his oath of office amid the lights of media cameras . Martelly , savvy in social media , tweeted his own inauguration as Haiti 's 56th president minutes after it happened along with a flurry of messages expressing hope that change would now come to Haiti . Outside , thousands of Haitians rejoiced at what they see as a new start for their country , where many people remain displaced from their homes and post-quake reconstruction has been slow , one of the reasons popular discontent with the former administration had grown . The collective joy surfaced in a nation that has been subjected to months of misery compounded by a cholera epidemic that erupted last October . Port-au-Prince was under strict security all day Saturday , with United Nations peacekeepers out in force on street corners . `` Today is a big day for us , '' said Jolina Desroches , 40 . `` Before , ( Martelly ) was just the president of Kompa ( a Haitian musical genre ) . Today , he is the president of the Haitian people . '' Dressed in a dark suit and red tie , Martelly stepped outside after the ceremony draped in the presidential sash . Supporters hoping for a glimpse of the new president climbed up flag polls over the United Nations plaza where the ceremony took place and pressed against barriers , as vendors took advantage of the crowd to sell plantain chips and bananas . After attending a lengthy Roman Catholic Mass in his honor , Martelly made his first speech as president on Saturday afternoon from a temporary stage in front of the collapsed National Palace , an iconic symbol of Haiti 's struggles . He promised change , emphasizing the need to improve public safety to facilitate investment -- saying that , `` with insecurity , the country can not work . ... Money can not ( stay in the system ) , which means there is n't work and the misery is worse . '' The new president also reaffirmed his campaign promise to offer free education to young Haitians . The entire address was in Creole , except for one part seemingly aimed at encouraging the international community to come to and invest in the Caribbean nation : `` A new Haiti ( is ) open for business now ! '' Thousands who had gathered outside the palace gates -- where a massive tent city still fills the capital 's central plaza , as it has since the epic earthquake -- cheered the president 's remarks . Martelly has acknowledged his task as herculean in nature . He has pledged to fight corruption and institute measures of transparency . He told CNN last month that one of his first actions as president would be to nominate high court judges . Creating an independent judiciary will send an important signal , he said . `` We have to establish a rule of law , '' he said . `` We want justice for everyone . '' Martelly also vowed to end government corruption that has plagued Haiti for years . `` I am excited to take command and make the right decisions for my country , '' he said during a visit to Washington in April . In a message posted on Twitter after the inauguration , the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince said it was looking forward to working with the new government to achieve a better future for Haitian people . Martelly 's candidacy was unexpected -- he was better known as Sweet Micky , the kompa singer with flamboyant stage presence , but appealed to voters who had grown weary with the status quo . CNN 's Moni Basu and Gary Tuchman and journalist Allyn Gaestel contributed to this report .
NEW : Michel Martelly proclaims : `` A new Haiti ( is ) open for business now ! '' NEW : Thousands cheered his inauguration as president in Port-au-Prince . Once a bad-boy musician , he won the election with promises to bring change . He has promised a free education for young Haitians and better public safety .