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| Hugo Chavez re-elected as president to extend socialist rule for another six years [File Photo] |
Caracas: Venezuela's
socialist President Hugo Chavez won the country’s crucial poll on Sunday and
re-elected for fourth term after defeating his political rival Henrique Capriles.
Mr. Chavez won 54.42 percent of the vote, while Henrique Capriles, the
unified opposition candidate, received 44.97 per cent, the country's electoral council announced.
With this
win Mr. Chavez emerged as a dominant figure in modern Latin American history,
as the election result bring his total years in office to 20.
The results would secure Mr. Chavez another six-year mandate, taking his
term of office through 2019.
“Thanks to my beloved people,” Mr. Chavez tweeted soon after the results
were made public.
Chavez’s supporter celebrated the triumph with exhilaration across the
capital.
Few Jubilant
supporters held impromptu street parties in central Caracas, blaring horns and
waving flags.
Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles acknowledged the election win of
Mr. Chavez.
“To know how to win, you need to know how to lose,” Capriles told
supporters at his campaign headquarters. “I want to congratulate the candidate,
the President,” he said.
With Venezuela sitting on the
world's largest oil reserves and Chávez a leading figure in the resurgence of
the political left in Latin America,
Chavez victory will have an impact on the global economy, energy
supplies and regional geopolitics.
Mr.
Chavez may get a free hand to push for an even bigger state role in the economy.