WORLD / America
Chavez wins re-election by wide margin
(AP)
Updated: 2006-12-04 10:45
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez won re-election by a wide
margin on Sunday, giving the firebrand leftist six more years to
redistribute Venezuela's vast oil wealth to the poor and press his
campaign to counter US influence in Latin America and beyond.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets hundreds of supporters from the
balcony of the Miraflores Palace in Caracas December 3, 2006 after
official election results gave him a victory by a wide margin. The
anti-US Venezuelan president claimed victory with a cry of 'long live the
revolution' as official results showed him heading for a landslide
re-election win on Sunday. [Reuters]
With 78 percent of voting stations reporting, Chavez had 61 percent to 38
percent for challenger Manuel Rosales, said Tibisay Lucena, head of the
country's elections council. Chavez had nearly 6 million votes versus 3.7
million for Rosales, according to the partial tally.
Turnout was 62 percent, according to an official bulletin of results,
making Chavez's lead insurmountable.
Minutes after the results were announced, Chavez appeared on the balcony
of the presidential palace singing the national anthem.
"Long live the socialist revolution! Destiny has been written," Chavez
shouted to thousands of flag-waving supporters in a pouring rain.
Chavez said he would now try to deepen his social reforms to spread his
country's vast oil profits among the poor.
"No one should fear socialism," he proclaimed. "Socialism is human.
Socialism is love."
Even before polls closed, Chavez supporters celebrated in the streets,
setting off fireworks and cruising Caracas honking horns and shouting
"Chavez isn't going anywhere!"
A top Rosales adviser, Teodoro Petkoff, said the voting was carried out
in a "satisfactory manner." He said some irregularities had occurred but
most were resolved. Another member of the Rosales camp had accused
pro-Chavez soldiers of reopening closed polling stations and busing
voters to them.
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