UNDATED (CNN) -- It's another term for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He was re-elected Sunday to a new six-year term, according to nearly complete results announced by election officials. Chavez, who's been president since 1999, overcame a serious challenge by a candidate considered moderate.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez declared reelection victory on national television. He says, "This has been the perfect struggle, the perfect battle, it was a perfect battle all along the line, a democratic battle. More than 8 million compatriots voted for the revolution, they voted for socialism, they voted for independence, they voted for the greatness of Venezuela, they voted for the future."
His challenger, Henrique Capriles Radonski, says while he didn't win the presidency, he did get the commitment and love of the millions of Venezuelans who voted for him.
The National Electoral Council says the country saw one of its highest participation rates in decades, with nearly 81 percent of eligible voters going to the polls.
The election also drew voters from beyond the country's borders, as thousands of Venezuelans living abroad lined up to cast their ballots at diplomatic offices.
In New Orleans, voters streamed into the Venezuelan consulate. Many traveled by bus from Miami, where Venezuelan authorities closed a consulate in January after the U.S. expelled the office's top diplomat. Gregorio Brito says, "We drove 23 hours to be here. And we can tell the people in Venezuela there's no reason to stay in their houses, it doesn't matter who you vote for, but you have to vote."
Gregorio Dryer, who traveled from Georgia, says, "There's people, senior people coming here to vote, that you can't imagine how much that trip can be to them also with discomfort of traveling on bus."
With 90 percent of the ballots counted, the National Electoral Council said Chavez had about 54 percent of the vote compared with nearly 45 percent for Capriles. That's 7.4 million votes for Chavez and 6.1 million for Capriles.