Sampaio re-elected president in Portugal

The Portuguese president, the Socialist Jorge Sampaio, has been elected for a second term in office.

As expected, Mr Sampaio scored a clear victory over his main challenger, Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral of the centre-right Social Democrats.

With the count almost complete, Mr Sampaio had about fifty-five per cent of the vote, and Mr Ferreira do Amaral thirty-five.

The Communist candidate, Antonio Abreu, came third with about five per cent. Two other far-left candidates polled just under five per cent between them. One of the main features of the election was the low turnout, with almost half of those eligible failing to vote -- the highest rate of abstention in a presidential election since democracy was restored a quarter of a century ago.

The BBC Lisbon Correspondent says this has provoked a gloomy diagnosis among politicians and in the media on the health of democracy in Portugal.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service