Donald Mckinnon was elected for a second term of four years as the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, official sources said in Abuja on Friday night.

The former New Zealand foreign minister beat Sri Lanka's former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar to retain the post. He won more than 40 votes of the 52 countries present at the voting, despite stubborn opposition from a small number of African countries. President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Sri Lanka and some mainly African countries opposed his re-election.

Commonwealth Secretaries-General are elected by Commonwealth heads of government and may hold a maximum of two four-year terms. McKinnon was first elected at the Durban CHOGM in 1999 and took office in April 2000. He is the fourth Commonwealth Secretary-General. His second term in office will commence in April 2004.

Addressing the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting following his re-election, McKinnon said: "Thank you for the confidence you have once again placed in me. I feel very privileged and honoured to be working for the Commonwealth.

"The Commonwealth is a unique organization, which has a unique role to play in today's world. The Commonwealth could not achieve this if it wasn't for our 300 or so deeply committed and talented staff members who deserve a lot of the credit.

"When I was first appointed, I said that the Commonwealth needed to be relevant to the lives of Commonwealth people. I still believe this, and I am convinced there are many more ways in which we can make a difference in the future. We will continue to work towards that end."