Maduro elected Venezuela president

Venezuela’s acting President Nicolas Maduro was elected Hugo Chavez’s successor Sunday with 50.66 percent of the vote, while opposition rival Henrique Capriles earned 49.06 percent, election officials said.

“These are the irreversible results that the people have decided,” National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena told a news conference, announcing a much closer victory for Maduro than expected.

“Today we can say that we had a fair electoral triumph,” Maduro said after the council said he had won 50.66 percent of the vote as compared to 49.06 percent for opposition rival Henrique Capriles.