The Chilean Socialist candidate, Ricardo Lagos has won the presidential election.

With eighty percent of the votes counted, Mr Lagos, has fifty-one percent of the ballots.

His right-wing rival, Joaquin Lavin, has acknowledged defeat and went to Mr Lagos's headquarters to shake his hand.

A BBC correspondent in Santiago says that Mr Lagos's victory represents a vote for the status quo as his centre-left coalition has governed Chile since the return to democracy ten years ago.

Our correspondent says Mr Lavin's strong showing in the first round of elections suggested that the right might have been about to make a come-back.

Although Mr Lavin had distanced himself from the former Chilean military leader General Pinochet, who is under house arrest in Britain, our correspondent says many Chileans were aware that Mr Lavin had been one of his advisors.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service