New Malawian President Peter Mutharika was inaugurated on Monday, after an election that was disputed by his predecessor.
Mutharika told supporters at a Blantyre stadium that he wanted to reconcile with former president Joyce Banda, whose demand for a new election was rejected by Malawi's High Court.
The new president said, "I come to her with an olive branch in my hand," but added, "Do not let it drop."
The 74-year-old Mutharika is the brother of late president Bingu wa Mutharika, whose death in 2012 allowed Banda to ascend from vice president.
The new president still faces treason charges for allegedly planning a coup after his brother died. On Sunday, a spokesman for the president's Democratic People's Party said he hopes the charges will die a natural death.
He also said Mutharika would unveil a Cabinet of mostly technocrats later this week.
The new president is Malawi's fourth since the country became a multi-party democracy in 1994.