Athens - The Greek parliament yesterday re-elected President Costis Stephanopoulos for a second five-year term.
Mr Stephanopoulos (74) was supported by 269 of the 300 deputies in the first ballot, well above the two-thirds majority required. Both the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), which has 161 seats, and the main conservative opposition New Democracy, with 103 seats, had endorsed Mr Stephanopoulos, who was also backed by seven independent deputies.
The vote marks the first time since the restoration of democracy in 1974 that a Greek president was elected for two consecutive terms and backed by both major parties.