Venezuela's National Electoral Council has issued their first bulletin regarding the 2012 presidential election.
The presidential race, according to polls, have been a close race between challenger Henrique Capriles Radonski and the incumbent Hugo Chavez, who is running for a third term.
In the first bulletin, it was revealed 80.44 percent (19,119,809) of Venezuelans voted today.
According to the NEC, from the city of Caracas, Chavez received 54.42 percent while Capriles earned 44.97 percent of the vote.
When breaking down the percentages, Chavez received 7,444,082 votes to Capriles' 6,151,544.
The Announcement:
Therefore, Chavez, representing the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, will stay in office until 2019.
Upon the announcement, fireworks could be heard around the capital city of Caracas.
News of the results led several terms revolving the election to trend worldwide on Twitter, such as Ganó Chávez, #FuerzaVenezuela, Cubazuela, and Consejo Nacional Electoral.
Chavez also took to Twitter about the results, tweeting, "Gracias a mi amado Pueblo!!! Viva Venezuela!!!! Viva Bolívar!!!!!"
Minutes later, he added, "Gracias Dios mío! Gracias a todos y a todas!!"
Capriles Concession Speech:
Venezuelan broadcaster Globovision is providing live streaming (see below).
If the video above doesn't display, click here.
As an alternative, click here for coverage from Telesur TV.
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