Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has won the presidential election for the third times with 54.42 percent of the vote, till 90% of the vote counted, an official said.
After handling the charges of the presidentialship in 1999, he has retained this portfolio and has been won to serve forth time for the country.
This would be his third six-year term that would start from January 2013.
Chavez has defeated opposition challenger Henrique Capriles, who represents the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition and gained 44.97 percent of votes, according to Chinese News Agency, Xinhua.
"We achieved an 80.9 percent participation rate, the highest participation rate in decades," Tibisay Lucena Ramirez, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced late Sunday.
Chavez supporters fired massive fireworks into the sky in celebration, as the result was announced.
Some 19 million Venezuelans were eligible to vote in Sunday's elections in which over 80% had exercised their rights. The polling stations were supposed to close at 6 p.m., but many polling stations stayed open later because voters were still waiting outside to vote.
--With IANS Inputs--
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