The 42-year-old politician secured an overwhelming majority in the first round of the elections as he collected 64.6 per cent of the vote to comfortable defeat the challenge of leftist rival Marcelo Freixo, who got just 28.1 per cent.

The vote gives Paes his second four-year term in office after he was first elected as Mayor in 2008 and he promised he would continue to work his hardest as the sporting spotlight falls on Rio.

"We are going to work together over the next four years," said Paes, who is a close ally of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

"We have many big projects culmination with the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 and we must work hard to make sure these are a success."

Ahead of Rio 2016, Paes will play a significant role in helping the city host key matches for the FIFA 2013 Confederations Cup next year and the FIFA 2014 World Cup, with the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio set to host the World Cup final.

Eduardo Paes (R) received the Olympic flag at the London 2012 Closing Ceremony after it was passed to him by Mayor of London Boris Johnson (L) and IOC President Jacques Rogge (C)

But Paes will have his work cut out to ensure all the events are successful, with Rio having been criticised by both FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for being behind schedule in many of its key works, including the renovation of the Estádio do Maracanã.

FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke has continually called on Brazil to step up the pace of its work, while the Rio 2016 IOC Coordination Commission chair Nawal El Moutawakel warned Rio 2016 that it was falling behind schedule in an address to the IOC Session in July.

She called for very vigorous coordination between stakeholders to keep the Olympic and Paralympic project on track but Paes and Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman have continually reiterated that the city will deliver the event on time.

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