Results
By Chavez forces claim victory, 58-42. It looks as if the OAS numbers agree.
The opposition disagrees. Instapundit seems to prefer the opposition account.
Two possibilities on the stance of the opposition. First, they may be generally surprised, because their own numbers actually showed victory. It’s hard to know, but I think it’s possible that sloppy exit polling is at fault. I wouldn’t be at all suprised if the opposition had done most of their exit polling in safe anti-Chavez areas, which would of course return the numbers they wanted. Second, this may be an effort to set the stage for continued opposition to Chavez. If the OAS numbers do agree with the Chavez victory, that’s going to be hard to pull off.
I suppose that congratulations are in order to President Chavez.