President Chandrika Kumaratunga has been re-elected for a second successive term as Sri Lanka's president.

Her victory comes just four days after she survived an assassination attempt during her final election rally.

She has held on to her lead over her main rival, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Mrs Kumaratunga - who survived an assassination attempt during her final election rally on Saturday - has 51%, with Mr Wickremesinghe on 42.7%. Final results are not yet available.

Later on Wednesday, she was sworn in for a second six-year term as president, and afterwards swore her government in - unchanged from before the poll.

About three-quarters of Sri Lanka's 11.7m voters took part in the poll - a record turn-out - but it was marred by violence and allegations of misconduct.

The result denied Mrs Kumaratunga the sweeping mandate she sought when she called the election 11 months early, and was far below the landslide 62% she won in 1994.

Correspondents said it was possible Mrs Kumaratunga had benefited from a sympathy vote following her narrow escape - but that the attack may equally have turned Sinhalese voters away from the opposition's plan to open talks with the rebels.

Mr Wickremesinghe saw a surge in his Tamil support, after he had advocated foreign-aided talks with the Tamil Tigers.

An overnight curfew was enforced after at least seven people were killed in election-related violence, but this has now been lifted.

Fraud allegations

Election monitors say they are still investigating allegations of vote-rigging and intimidation by party activists, especially in the central areas of the island.

They said there were 500 fraud complaints from across the country,

Thousands of security personnel were deployed to keep the peace, with armed police guarding polling booths

President Kumaratunga did not cast her vote in her home constituency. She was permitted to cast her vote in her heavily guarded official residence, having only been discharged from hospital on Monday after being treated for shrapnel injuries.

The assassination attempt at the weekend was one of two bomb attacks blamed on the Tamil Tiger. The other was aimed at an opposition rally.

At least 35 people were killed and more than 100 injured.

Although not all Tamils support the rebels' methods, many sympathise with their demand for a separate homeland in the north of the country.