ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — The White House is congratulating the Venezuelan people for peaceful elections and for high voter participation while noting that the U.S. has differences with re-elected President Hugo Chavez.
White House spokesman Jay Carney noted that the challenger in the contest, Henrique Capriles, conceded in an election that Venezuela's election commission announced Chavez won 54-45 percent with 90 percent of the votes counted. Carney spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One as President Barack Obama traveled in California.
It was Chavez's third re-election in nearly 14 years in office. It was also his smallest victory margin. In 2006, he won by 27 percentage points.