Chavez re-elected as Venezuelan president, defeating Capriles Hugo Chavez thanks his supporters and acknowledges the opposition His defeated challenger urges him to govern for all Venezuelans Chavez, president since 1999, is re-elected to a six-year term With 90% of ballots counted, he has 54% of the vote, officials say Fireworks began to pepper the sky over Caracas soon after the provisional results were announced. "Today we have demonstrated -- comrades, compatriots -- that our democracy is one of the best in the world," Chavez said in a speech from the balcony of the presidential palace to thousands of supporters who cheered and waved flags. He thanked those who had voted for him and acknowledged those who had voted against him, applauding their "democratic attitude." Chavez has had more than a decade to implement his vision of 21st century socialism, a view that emphasizes use of state oil windfalls to fund social programs. During his campaign, he highlighted his accomplishments in housing, education and health initiatives and acknowledged he need to do more on crime and government bureaucracy. The ebullient leader is 58 years old and has been visibly weakened by two surgeries for cancer. His victory gives him "the opportunity to consolidate his policies" and also reaffirms the approach his government has taken to international relations, said Miguel Tinker Salas, a Latin American history professor at Pomona College in California. Despite that tight economic relationship, the two countries are far from close allies: Chavez often rails against the United States and its allies as "imperialists" and has supported controversial world leaders like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. The election result Sunday means the U.S. government will have to continue to deal with Chavez's provocatively independent brand of diplomacy. "I think Washington will have to start getting used to the fact that countries in Latin America, especially South America, are charting their own course," said Salas. In a speech to his supporters, Capriles congratulated Chavez on his victory and urged him to take into account the different views expressed by voters. "Being a good president means working for the vision of all Venezuelans," he said. Observers had said Capriles, 40, represented a moderate alternative to Chavez, the charismatic standard-bearer of the Latin American left. Capriles had vowed not to end the social programs that Chavez had set up, and he had promised to fight corruption that had grown in the public sector. Capriles is a high-profile conservative who was a mayor, a parliament member and governor of Miranda, which adjoins the nation's capital. The attorney-turned-politician had been so active on the campaign trial that he earned the nicknamed the "roadrunner." He appeared to have mounted one of the strongest challenges so far in Chavez's 13 years in power. But his efforts ultimately proved insufficient to unseat the incumbent. The opposition will now have to try to maintain a unified front for regional elections scheduled to take place December, Tinker Salas said. That may prove difficult, he said, since "the one thing that brought them together was the figure of Chavez." The country saw one of its high participation rates in decades on Sunday, with almost 81% of voters going to the polls, according to Lucena of the electoral council. The army was deployed around the country throughout the day to ensure a peaceful and secure vote, said Maj. Gen. Wilmer Barrientos, commander of strategic operations command. In a phone call aired on state-run television earlier in the evening, Chavez had asked people to remain calm until the election results were completed and for there to be no violence. Journalist Osmary Hernandez and CNN's Mariano Castillo, Paula Newton, Gustavo Valdes, Helena DeMoura, Patricia Janiot, Rafael Romo, Michael Martinez, Jethro Mullen and Richard Singer contributed to this report.