Nicolas Maduro has been formally proclaimed by Venezuela’s election authority as the winner of Sunday’s closely-fought presidential election.

The National Electoral Council backed the slender victory of Nicolas Maduro, the acting president, despite protests from opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

The official count indicates Nicolas Maduro won 50.7% of votes to Henrique Capriles’ 49.1%.

Following the announcement, clashes broke out between protesters and police in the capital Caracas.

Police fired tear gas at hundreds of students demonstrating in one part of the city, while elsewhere opposition supporters took to their balconies and the streets to bang pots and pans in protest.

Nicolas Maduro has been formally proclaimed by Venezuela’s election authority as the winner of Sunday’s closely-fought presidential election

Henrique Capriles had earlier urged national protests and a march on the electoral offices in the capital in the event that Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner.

He called on the National Electoral Council not to confirm the election result, citing voting irregularities, and demanded a recount.

Henrique Capriles said he regarded the election of Nicolas Maduro as “illegitimate”.

The poll was called after President Hugo Chavez died of cancer last month.

Nicolas Maduro is a former bus driver who rose to become Hugo Chavez’s vice-president and heir apparent.

Henrique Capriles said there were more than 3,200 “incidents” from Sunday’s poll that needed to be examined.

“All we’re asking is that our rights be respected, that the will of the people be respected, and that every single vote be counted, every little piece of paper,” he told a news conference broadcast on national television.

But while it has agreed to an audit of the electronic counting system, the government is rejecting calls that the ballot boxes be opened for a manual recount.

Monday saw opposition students briefly invade a hotel where international election observers are staying, demanding to know why the vote had been declared free and fair.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Cuban leader Raul Castro were among the first heads of state to congratulate Nicolas Maduro on his win.

But the US has called for an audit of the results.

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Socialist Nicolas Maduro has won a narrow victory in Venezuela’s presidential being officially elected as the successor of the late leader Hugo Chavez.

Nicolas Maduro won 50.7% of the vote against 49.1% for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski.

Henrique Capriles has demanded a recount, saying Nicolas Maduro was now “even more loaded with illegitimacy”.

The opposition candidate said there were more than 300,000 incidents from Sunday’s poll that would need to be examined.

The electoral commission said the results were “irreversible”.

Socialist Nicolas Maduro has won a narrow victory in Venezuela’s presidential being officially elected as the successor of the late leader Hugo Chavez

When the results were announced at 23:15 local time, celebrations erupted in the capital, Caracas, where Nicolas Maduro’s jubilant supporters set off fireworks and blasted car horns. Opposition voters banged pots and pans in protest.

In a victory speech outside the presidential palace, Nicolas Maduro, wearing the colors of the Venezuelan flag, told crowds that the result was “just, legal and constitutional”.

He said his election showed Hugo Chavez “continues to be invincible, that he continues to win battles”.

Nicolas Maduro said he had spoken to Henrique Capriles on the phone, and that he would allow an audit of the election result.

The former Venezuela’s vice president, who was hand-picked by Hugo Chavez as his successor, called for those who had not voted for him to “work together” for the country.

However, Nicolas Maduro’s margin of victory was far narrower than that achieved by Hugo Chavez at elections last October, when he beat Henrique Capriles by more than 10%.

At Henrique Capriles’ campaign headquarters the mood was sombre, as his supporters watched the results on television. Some cried, while others hung their heads in dismay.

Shortly afterwards, Henrique Capriles emerged, angry and defiant.

“It is the government that has been defeated,” he said.

Then, addressing Nicolas Maduro directly, Henrique Capriles said: “The biggest loser today is you. The people don’t love you.”

Nicolas Maduro had been serving as acting president since Hugo Chavez died of an unknown type of cancer on March 5.

He is due to be sworn in on April 19 and serve until January 2019 to complete the six-year term that Hugo Chavez would have begun in January.

Hugo Chavez was a divisive leader. To his supporters he was the reforming president whose idiosyncratic brand of socialism defeated the political elite and gave hope to the poorest Venezuelans.

He effectively used his country’s vast oil reserves to boost Venezuela’s international clout, and his strident criticism of the US won him many political allies in Latin America.

However, Hugo Chavez’s political opponents accused him of being an autocrat, intent on building a one-party state.

Hugo Chavez bequeaths a nation beset by crumbling infrastructure, unsustainable public spending and under-performing industry.

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Venezuela is voting in new presidential election, called after the death of Hugo Chavez last month.

Venezuela’s Acting President Nicolas Maduro, chosen by Hugo Chavez as his successor, is running against Henrique Capriles Radonski, currently governor of Miranda state.

Henrique Capriles narrowly lost to Hugo Chavez in elections last October.

On the eve of polls opening, he accused Nicolas Maduro of breaking election laws by continuing its campaign on state television.

Electoral authorities say voting has been going smoothly. Security had been stepped up for the vote.

Nicolas Maduro, 50, whose campaign has focused on his close relationship to Hugo Chavez, was shown visiting the tomb of the late leader, a move Henrique Capriles, 40, said was “violating all the electoral norms”.

Both candidates have to some extent broken the media silence they are supposed to have maintained since campaigning officially ended on Thursday.

Almost 19 million Venezuelans have the right to vote in the poll.

Venezuela’s Acting President Nicolas Maduro, chosen by Hugo Chavez as his successor, is running against Henrique Capriles Radonski, currently governor of Miranda state

Nicolas Maduro cast his vote in the Catia area of the capital Caracas, accompanied by Hugo Chavez’s two daughters. Henrique Capriles voted in the Las Mercedes district of the capital.

Hundreds of election monitors are present from different countries and international organizations to ensure the poll is free and fair.

The vote is electronic – one machine will identify voters’ fingerprints, and a second will recognize identity card numbers and register the vote anonymously.

Polls will stay open until all those queuing at closing time have voted.

Official results are expected about three hours after the polls close.

Both presidential candidates wrote on Twitter early in the morning.

Nicolas Maduro invited Venezuelans to vote to guarantee the future and the perpetual peace of their country.

Meanwhile opposition candidate Henrique Capriles said: “The big day is here!” and used a hashtag urging people to “vote without fear”.

Former President Hugo Chavez died on March 5, after a two-year battle against an undisclosed type of cancer, prompting a short electoral campaign period before Sunday’s elections.

The winner is due to be sworn in on April 19 and serve until January 2019, to complete the six-year term that Hugo Chavez was supposed to have begun in January.

Hugo Chavez was a divisive leader. To his supporters he was the reforming president whose idiosyncratic brand of socialism defeated the political elite and gave hope to the poorest Venezuelans.

He effectively used his country’s vast oil reserves to boost Venezuela’s international clout, and his strident criticism of the US won him many political allies in Latin America.

However, Hugo Chavez’s political opponents accuse him of being an autocrat, intent on building a one-party state.

Hugo Chavez bequeaths a nation beset by crumbling infrastructure, unsustainable public spending and under-performing industry.

His handpicked candidate Nicolas Maduro is seen as the front-runner, but recent polls suggested the gap between him and his rival was narrowing.

Nicolas Maduro:

• Named by Hugo Chavez as preferred successor; currently Venezuela’s acting president
• Served as vice-president and foreign minister under Hugo Chavez
• Former bus driver, lifelong socialist and trade unionist

Henrique Capriles Radonski:

• Trained as a lawyer, currently governor of state of Miranda
• Gained 44% of vote against Hugo Chavez in 2012 elections
• Describes policies as “centrist” and cites former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as inspiration

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