Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
(Image Source: Venezuelanalysis.com) BY JENNESSA EWING, LORA VLAEVA, RUSSELL CHAPIN,
KAREN RODRIGUEZ ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS
The Venezuelan presidential election Sunday proved once again the popularity of incumbent
candidate Hugo Chavez, winning his third re-election.
Chavez won in 21 of 25 of the voting areas but only
by a 10-point margin against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.
10 percent is the
smallest margin of victory for Chavez since his first election in 1998, and it’s a sharp
downturn from his 27 percent victory in 2006.
And with a turnout of 81 percent, it pulled in
the most Venezuelan voters in deacdes, supporting its legitimacy.
In his concession speech,
opposition candidate Capriles reaffirmed the elections were democratic and said he is in
full trust of the election process.
CNN’s Rafael Romo reports of the opposition
“They had a presence in every single one of all the polling places throughout Venezuela
and they haven’t seen any irregularities”
Chavez gave a speech at the Presidential Palace.
BBC has this report: “Truthfully, this has been the perfect battle,
a democratic battle. Venezuela will continue its march toward the democratic socialism
of the 21st Century."
On a local Venezuelan TV station the President of the National Electoral
Consulate says...
ORIGINAL: “Participar en un proceso electoral como estè en democracia
es ya una victoria para el pueblo todo de Venezuela, el paìs entero a ganado.”
TRANSLATION: “To participate in a democratic electoral process like this one is already
a victory for the people of Venezuela, the entire country has won.”
His re-election
also means Chavez is now the longest serving elected president in Latin America.