Caracas , Venezuela ( CNN ) -- With 95 % of votes counted , Miranda state Gov . Henrique Capriles cruised to an easy primary win in Venezuela on Sunday , garnering some 62 % of the vote . He will face President Hugo Chavez in October . Capriles , 39 , led in polls heading into the election . He cast himself himself as a center-left candidate and sought to appeal to voters across the political spectrum . `` Today , our people spoke , '' he told crowds of cheering supporters late Sunday . Calling for unity , he promised to work for all Venezuelans . Capriles won roughly 1.8 million of the approximately 2.9 votes cast in the country , according to Teresa Albanes , president of the electoral commission of an opposition coalition group . Capriles ' closest competitor , Zulia state Gov . Pablo Perez , garnered some 30 % of the vote , she said . Earlier in the day , voters queued up outside schools throughout the South American nation , where officials and observers reported that the primary proceeded smoothly . CNN iReporters sent pictures of long lines snaking in and around buildings in Caracas , Valencia and Maracay . The five opposition contenders for the presidential candidacy agreed on one thing : supporting whoever won the primary . The unified front could be a key weapon in the political battle leading up to October 's presidential election , analysts say . `` The opposition realized that if they are not united , if they divide the vote , they can never beat Chavez , '' said Federico Welsch , a political science professor at the Simon Bolivar University in Caracas , prior to the vote . `` After Sunday , President Chavez will have an adversary with a face and a name . ... This time it seems like the opposition has a real possibility of winning . It 's not a very high probability , but there 's a chance . '' Chavez 's supporters have slammed the opposition coalition , saying there 's no doubt the incumbent president will triumph in October . The candidates ' hatred of Chavez is the only thing pulling them together , Rep. Jesus Cepeda said in an interview broadcast on state television last month . `` Hatred is the most detestable human emotion . And when it lodges inside people , it consumes and corrupts them to a point where they ca n't even think . The opposition is full of resentment , '' said Cepeda , a lawmaker from Chavez 's United Socialist Party of Venezuela . Beyond a shared goal of unseating Chavez , there were other issues at play in the primary , including what to do about high levels of public spending , widespread security problems and inadequate health care , said Jose Vicente Carrasquero , who is also a political science professor at the Simon Bolivar University and who also spoke ahead of the vote . `` Chavez is running for re-election for the fourth time , and these are the same problems that he did not resolve the three previous times , '' Carrasquero said . Chavez has repeatedly hailed the successes of his government , arguing that poverty has declined and social programs have increased . The president has said he is confident he will win October 's election , but pledged to step aside if he does n't . `` If I lose the elections on October 7 , I would be the first to recognize it and I would hand over the government and I would call on civil servants and the military , from the most moderate to the most radical , to obey the mandate of the people , '' Chavez said last month . Capriles , a former tax attorney , was the mayor of Baruta , a Caracas suburb , before winning the governorship of Miranda , which adjoins the Venezuelan capital . He was also the youngest vice president of the now defunct Venezuelan Congress . CNN 's Patricia Janiot and journalist Osmary Hernandez in Caracas and CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet , Claudia Dominguez and Rafael Romo in Atlanta and Rafael Fuenmayor in Miami contributed to this report .
Pablo Perez : ` ` Today , our people spoke '' Pablo Perez garners some 38 % of the vote . Capriles wins 62 % of the vote . Close to one million people cast ballots .