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| Maduro wins Venezuelan election |
| Caracas, 15.04.2013 |
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| (CNN) -- The man Hugo Chavez handpicked to be his successor won Venezuela's presidential vote, election authorities said, but the opposition candidate denounced irregularities and called for a recount.
Nicolas Maduro secured 50.66% of votes in Sunday's presidential election, while opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski won 49.07%, officials said.
The top election official, National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena, called the results "irreversible."
But less than an hour later, Capriles said there were thousands of election irregularities, and called the results illegitimate.
"I want to tell the candidate of the government: today you're the loser and I'm telling you this unequivocally. You are the loser, you and your government," he said early Monday.
"I say that unequivocally and with all commitment and transparency. We will not recognize any results until each vote of the Venezuelan people has been counted."
Maduro told cheering supporters that his victory was clear.
"I have won by nearly 300,000 votes," he said. "It is the decision of the people."
After authorities announced his election victory Sunday night, Maduro said he would soon head to Chavez's tomb to pay his respects.
"Mission accomplished, Commander Chavez," he said, drawing cheers from the crowd
As fireworks shot out over Caracas, he called on Venezuelans to respect the results and respond peacefully.
"We are victorious and we are going to govern this country with the constitution in hand," he said.
The closely watched election was the second time in just over six months that voters in the South American country cast ballots in a presidential election.
Chavez, who ruled Venezuela for 14 years, celebrated a triumphant re-election victory in October. After his death on March 5, authorities announced new elections to select his successor.
In one of his last public appearances, Chavez tapped Maduro as his replacement.
"My firm opinion, as clear as the full moon -- irrevocable, absolute, total -- is ... that you elect Nicolas Maduro as president," Chavez said in December, waving a copy of the Venezuelan Constitution as he spoke. "I ask this of you from my heart. He is one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue, if I cannot."
It was the first time Chavez had named a successor.
His comments dramatically changed the political landscape, and became the basis for Maduro's push to ascend to the presidency after his mentor's death.
Throughout the campaign, Maduro, 50, positioned himself as Chavez's political heir.
He pledged to continue Chavez's efforts to build "21st century socialism" and said his campaign platform consisted of following the former president's plan for the country.
Capriles, 40, said he was pushing a more moderate approach, promising to continue social programs and improve the country's economy.
The opposition candidate lost to Chavez in October's presidential vote, but he came within 10 percentage points of the longtime leader. It was a significant gap, but the closest any opposition candidate ever came to defeating Chavez during his rule.
More than 78% of the 18.9 million Venezuelans registered voted in Sunday's presidential election, Lucena said.
In Venezuela, elections officials said Sunday evening that the day had proceeded smoothly without major incidents.
Authorities detained 43 people for alleged electoral crimes, Maj. Gen. Wilmer Barrientos told reporters.
As polls were closing Sunday, Twitter accounts for Maduro and his party were apparently hacked with posts denouncing "electoral fraud." A group calling itself Lulz Security Peru claimed responsibility, while officials from Maduro's campaign criticized what they said were "dirty tactics," blaming right-wing political opponents for the hacking.
Earlier Sunday, both candidates' campaigns called on Venezuelans to calmly await official results.
But they also appeared to be bracing for a fight.
Opposition leaders decried irregularities long before the official tally was announced, with Maduro's campaign vowing to defend the election results.
CNN's Fernando del Rincon, Patricia Janiot and Paula Newton contributed to this report from Caracas. CNN's Gustavo Valdes contributed to this report from New Orleans and CNN's Rafael Romo and Claudia Dominguez contributed from Atlanta
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