Rebelo de Sousa elected Portugal's new president

MADRID

Centre-right candidate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been elected Portugal's new president on Sunday.

According to the 96 percent of the votes counted, the Interior Ministry announced Sousa garnered 52.89 percent of the votes in the first round of the presidential race.

The 67-year-old independent candidate was a member of his Social Democrat Party since 1974 and as of 1989, he has taught at Law Faculty of Lisbon University.

Rebelo de Sousa will serve as the country's fifth president.

In last fifteen years, Souza has become a popular figure with his political analysis programs at state-run RTP and TVI television channels.

About 9.7 million Portuguese voters headed to the polls Sunday to elect their president for the next five years.

Voting began at 8.00 a.m. local time (0800GMT) and closed at 7.00 p.m. local time. A total of 10 candidates run in the election, in which former President Anibal Cavaco Silva did not participate.