Centre-right candidate and law expert Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was elected as President of Portugal on Sunday, according to preliminary results.

Mr Rebelo de Sousa – who was backed by Portugal’s centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) – obtained 52 percent of the votes cast, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ General Secretariat showed, after more than 99 percent of votes had been counted.

In his victory speech, he said Portugal was “coming out of a profound economic and social crisis”, and could “not waste any energy”.

“The more united we are, the stronger we will be fighting injustice and promoting trustworthiness and hope in the future,” the President-elected stated, as quoted by Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias.

A total of 10 candidates took part in the presidential election. Mr Rebelo de Sousa received double the number of votes cast for the second most popular candidate, former university rector Sampaio da Nóvoa.

Mr Rebelo de Sousa was formerly a television commentator and a law professor at the University of Lisbon. In the 1990s he led the PSD.

The new President will be sworn in on March 9. He will replace Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who has served the maximum two five-year terms.