By RIA Novosti,
Caracus : President Hugo Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has triumphed in the majority of states in nationwide polls to elect mayors and governors, election officials said on Monday.
The PSUV won in 17 out of the OPEC country’s 22 states. The opposition took the capital, Caracas, and the two most populous states. Results from two states, Carabobo and Tachira, have yet to be determined and the vote is said to be too close to call.
While a convincing victory, the result is somewhat worse for Chavez than the 2004 polls, when his allies triumphed in all but two states.
Antonio Ledezma, the mayor-elect of Caracas, called for cooperation between other opposition mayors and Chavez’s government after his victory.
The polls were largely seen as a test of Chavez’s popularity and his intention to build “a socialism for the 21st century.” They came a year after the charismatic opponent of “U.S. imperialism” lost a referendum that would have allowed presidents to remain in power for an unlimited number of terms.
More than 65% of the electorate took part in the ballot, election officials added, a high turnout for a country where participation in polls rarely exceeds 50%.