EL UNIVERSAL
President Hugo Chávez was re-elected Sunday with 61.35
percent of ballots, with 78.32 percent of the votes counted,
while his closest rival, single opposition presidential candidate
Manuel Rosales gained 38.39 percent of ballots, said Tibisay
Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE)
in disclosing the first preliminary official results.
Based on CNE figures, Chávez obtained 5,963,141 ballots
(61.35 percent) and Rosales 3,715,292 ballots (38.39 percent).
"The realm of socialism is the realm of Venezuelan future.
The victory we have just achieved has no parallel in our history,"
he claimed.
Chávez branded his triumph as the victory of love, the
victory of Bolívar, and the victory of the Bolivarian
Venezuela. In his view, his triumph is "undeniable" and "conclusive."
Chávez praised "the whole country with no exemptions
whatsoever, and the people, our humble yet great people."
He congratulated all voters for their civic behavior and “commitment
to the Bolivarian democracy and our Constitution.”
Chávez also showed appreciation "even for the people
who did not vote for me, as they have made a display of democratic
behavior. We believe it is very positive that the opposition
forces forget –I hope that now and forever- of treacherous
ambushes and join the process of the new Venezuela."
Chávez hoped the opposition "shows a responsible attitude
this time." He stressed that abstention was overwhelmingly
defeated by "the highest popular turnout ever in terms of
the number of voters in the whole Venezuelan political history."
The re-elected Venezuelan ruler also hailed the National
Electoral Council (CNE), the National Armed Force “and particularly
the military reserve.” Chávez also praised the role of
the chief of the National Armed Force Unified Command (Cufan)
Brigadier General Wilfredo Silva, who is also the chief of
electoral protection military deployment Plan República.
Further, Chávez thanked foreign electoral observers
for "coming from all around the world to witness the great
Bolivarian victory."
Meanwhile, Chávez' followers at the presidential palace
of Miraflores were chanting their traditional slogan: "Hey,
hey, Chávez is here to stay".
Translated by Maryflor Suárez
msuarez@eluniversal.com
