Electoral Council: Hugo Chavez Wins Venezuela Re-Election

The Venezuela electoral council has declared that Hugo Chavez has won the presidential race on Sunday, Oct. 7.

According to the Associated Press, Chavez won more than 54 percent of the vote to defeat Henrique Capriles who got 54 percent of the votes.

If he completes this six-year term, Chavez will spend 19 years in office. This is Chavez's third re-election victory and the toughest re-election fight he has faced.

Chavez took to Twitter to express his joy.

"Thanks to my beloved people!" he tweeted to his 3.5 million followers. "Long live Venezuela!! Bolivar Live!! Thank God! Thanks to you all!"

President Hugo Chavez won re-election on Sunday, defeating challenger Henrique Capriles, Venezuela's electoral council said.

According to the AP, the National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena saidd 81 percent of the nearly 19 million registered voters cast ballots and Chavez won more than 7.4 million votes, beating Capriles by more than 1.2 million votes.