CARACAS, Venezuela -- (AP) -- Three months after her failed campaign for
             president of Venezuela, former Miss Universe Irene Saez on Sunday won an
             overwhelming victory in the governor's race on the tourist playground of Margarita
             Island.

             With 98 percent of votes counted, Saez had nearly 71 percent of the total, election
             officials said. Her main competitor, car dealer Gregorio Boadas, received nearly
             29 percent.

             About 50 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

             Saez, an independent who earned a reputation as an honest and efficient mayor in
             an affluent Caracas suburb, pledged to revive the sagging tourist trade, attract
             foreign investors and bring the Miss Universe pageant to Margarita.

             ``The clamor of the entire population is for change, for dignity in public
             administration,'' Saez, 37, told reporters shortly after casting her vote in Porlamar,
             Margarita's largest city.

             Many residents complain that the breezy Caribbean island of lush valleys and
             mountains is wracked by poverty, corruption, drug trafficking, prostitution, crime
             and water and electricity shortages. Saez promised to address those problems as
             well.

             Saez's main opponent, Boadas, said she was an opportunist since she doesn't live
             in Margarita. Saez's detractors also lambasted her for accepting the support of a
             leftist coalition led by President Hugo Chavez.

             During the presidential campaign, the 1981 Miss Universe blasted Chavez as a
             tyrant. She finished a distant third.

             Many residents picture the blond, six-foot-one Saez greeting foreign tourists at
             Margarita's airport and starting new programs to attract visitors.

             ``We are taking a transcendental decision for our region,'' said Manuel Rivero,
             head of ProMargarita, a private group that promotes tourism and investment,
             speaking to Globovision TV.

             The election in Margarita was unexpected. The newly reelected governor, Rafael
             Tovar, died in January and authorities called new elections to replace him.

             Saez said she never expected to run for governor of Margarita and speculated that
             the surprise election must be ``something of destiny, something providential.''

             Despite a downturn in tourism this year, Margarita still attracts thousands of
             visitors each year from Europe, the United States and Canada who delight in its
             white sand beaches and thriving nightlife.

             The island is a popular jumping off point for other Venezuelan tourist spots, such
             as the Los Roques archipelago and Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall.
 

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