Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa delivers his victory speech after being reelected as Portuguese President during the 2021 presidential elections in Lisbon on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won reelection Sunday according to media projections and partial results, after a poll held at the height of the country's coronavirus crisis.

The center-right incumbent, who had been widely expected to win another term, took 61.6 percent of the vote, with almost all the results declared.

Socialist challenger Ana Gomes came in second with 12.24 percent of the vote, ahead of far-right candidate Andre Ventura in third.

In his victory speech Rebelo de Sousa pledged to make the fight against coronavirus his "first priority."

Portugal recorded its worst daily coronavirus death toll on Sunday, with more than 85,000 infections and almost 1,500 deaths reported in the past week. 

That is the highest rate worldwide in proportion to its population of more than 10 million, according to an AFP tally based on government figures.

Opinion polls had pointed to a first-round victory for Rebelo de Sousa, a former political commentator known for candid moments like sharing a meal with homeless people and plunging into the sea to help girls whose canoe had capsized.

Turnout reached 35.4 percent by 1600 GMT, only slightly lower than at the same time five years ago, soothing fears that abstentions might top 70 percent.

In the capital Lisbon, voters queued outside polling stations and were let in one by one under coronavirus social distancing rules.

As mail-in ballots are not well-established in Portugal, early voting was available on January 17, drawing nearly 200,000 voters.

Portugal has been under a second national lockdown for the past 10 days aimed at stemming a surge in coronavirus cases. 

The government has now shut schools for two weeks on top of shops and restaurants.

AFP