Chavez re-elected as Venezuelan president
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won his re-election bid Sunday with 54 percent of the vote, defeating former state governor Henrique Capriles.
National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena announced late Sunday that President Chavez won a third six-year term of office.
She said that candidate Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias won 54.52 percent of the votes. Henrique Capriles won 44.97 percent of the votes.
Polling results also indicate 81 percent of the 19 million registered voters cast ballots, making this one of the largest election turnouts in years.
It was a major victory for the 58-year-old president who staged a remarkable comeback from cancer this year, the Voice of America reports.
"Today we've shown thatVenezuela's democracy is one of the best democracies in the world, and we will continue to show it," Reuters cited 58-year-old Chavez saying. Crowds roared, and the smoke of fireworks clouded the air,
