Nicolás Maduro declared Venezuela election winner by thin margin

The first presidential vote of the post-Chávez era resulted in turmoil on Sunday night after the declaration of a razor-thin win for the ruling party candidate Nicolas Maduro left an enraged opposition declaring fraud and demanding a recount.

According to the Central Electoral Commission, Venezuelan voters narrowly endorsed Hugo Chávez's choice of Maduro as his successor with a less than two percentage point margin over his rival, Henrique Capriles.

The former trade union negotiator immediately declared victory. "I'm here to assume my responsibility with courage ... The fight continues!" Maduro, 50, told a rally.

Although Chávistas in central Caracas launched fireworks and honked their car horns in celebration, the tiny margin shocked many aides, who had been expecting the double-digit victory predicted by most polls up until a week ago.

At Miraflores, the presidential palace, Maduro addressed a crowd of supporters who had previously welcomed Chávez's election victories at the same venue.

Flanked by his wife, son and government officials, Maduro proclaimed a new era in the "Bolivarian Revolution" began by his predecessor and said his victory was further proof that Chávez "continues to be invincible, that he continues to win battles".

Maduro claimed he was the target of a "dirty war". "There is an international operation to attack Venezuelan democracy," he said. "I will show no weakness against those who meddle with this country's sovereignty."

How he will rule with such a narrow majority will be a key question. Maduro said Capriles had called him before the results were announced to suggest a "pact" but that he had refused.

Capriles said he would never make a pact with "the illegitimate" and declared himself ready to fight against electoral abuse. Speaking to supporters but addressing Maduro, he said: "You and your government are the big losers of this process. We will not recognise the results until every single vote is counted one by one ... Every box, every vote must be counted."

Membership of the electoral commission is skewed towards the ruling party and many Capriles supporters felt cheated. In the suburbs, where his backing is strongest, protesters banged pots and pans in anger.

Their options, however, are limited. Venezuela now faces a difficult period with a new president who must assert control with a small and contested mandate even as he addresses chronic problems of inflation, high crime rates, crumbling infrastructure and an over-reliance on oil exports.

Chávez's death from cancer in March sparked the race for a successor, which came six months after Chávez won the previous presidential election. In his last address to the nation before undergoing emergency surgery the former president urged Venezuelans to vote for Maduro if he failed to recover.

Millions appeared to have taken his words to heart in Sunday's election. Maduro won with 7,505,338 votes or 50.66% and Capriles had 7,270,403 or 49.07%.

This was considerably below the 12 percentage point winning margin attained by Chávez in October – underlining the difficulty the new president faces in living up to the reputation of his charismatic predecessor.

Voter turnout was slightly down at 78.71%, when for the October 2012 election it was 80.4% of the 19 million registered voters.

The opposition complained throughout the campaign that it was at an unfair disadvantage because Maduro had far more airtime on the state broadcasting channels and made use of the extensive funds and personnel of nationalised companies to bolster his rallies.

Tibisay Lucena, the head of the electoral commission, said destiny had put Venezuela to the test but the country had passed the challenge.

"This is a moment to go home and transmit to your followers the tranquility that people deserve. We ask all of you to go home in peace and as always with the solidarity we have always shown," Lucena said.

Up until a week ago most polling groups had predicted at least a 14-point margin of victory for Maduro but the gap was said to have narrowed towards the end of the 10-day presidential race.

Analysts attributed this to a frenetic mobilisation campaign by Capriles and to Maduro's lack of charisma and often bizarre comments, which included a claim that he was visited by the spirit of Chávez in bird form.

But voter desire for continuity of popular social welfare "missions" and a strong sympathy vote in the wake of Chávez funeral helped to carry the day for Maduro, who has proclaimed himself the "son" of the former president.