The Social Democrat leader, Peter Caruana, has easily won the general election in Gibraltar, allowing him to retain his position as Chief Minister for the next four years.

Mr Caruana won over eight-and-a-half thousand votes, while his main opposition, the Socialist leader, Joe Bassanno, trailed behind with a little over six thousand votes. Two independent candidates won a tiny percentage of the votes. A local representative of the British monarchy, Sir Richard Luce, will swear-in Mr Caruana later today Friday.

For the first time in recent years, the election campaign did not focus on Spain's 300-year-old claim to the territory.

Instead, candidates concentrated on domestic issues, including improving conditions for workers and pensioners. Correspondents say Mr Caruana's success in the elction was most likely due to the stable economic situation in the territory.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service