Nicolas Maduro declared president elect of Venezuela

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) Monday officially declared Nicolas Maduro to be president elect for the 2013-2019 presidential term, after confirming his victory in Sunday's presidential race and rejecting the claims of fraud from opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

CNE President Tibisay Lucena confirmed that Maduro, the political heir of late President Hugo Chavez, won the special elections organized after Chavez's untimely death on March 5 from cancer.

At a ceremony attended by top government officials and the diplomatic corps, and broadcast by television and radio, Lucena handed the certified results to Maduro, proclaiming him "president- elect of Venezuela," following the close race against Capriles.

Lucena also affirmed the efficiency and validity of Venezuela's electoral system, saying "our country is a champion of democracy .. . that has proven its strength throughout the years."

The country's electoral process has been widely lauded by international organizations, such as the Carter Center, for virtually eliminating vote tampering, but the razor-thin margin of victory led the opposition to demand a recount.

Refuting the allegations of fraud leveled by the runner-up, Lucena urged Capriles to register his demand for a vote-by-vote recount through legal channels.

"The legal means to do so are there," she said, "Attacking or assailing (the electoral system) is not the way to appeal electoral power. The Constitution and the law are the only means that true democrats respect."

The election chief also rejected criticism of the election outcome from the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, and the U.S. State Department.

According to the CNE results, Maduro, the candidate of Venezuela's United Socialist Party (PSUV), garnered 50.75 percent of the votes, while Capriles, the candidate of the conservative coalition, garnered 48.97 percent, a difference of around 265,000 votes.

Some 79.17 percent of Venezuela's 18.9 million eligible voters went to the polls Sunday.

As the council made the announcement, Capriles supporters in an eastern neighborhood of Caracas banged pots and pans outside their windows as a form of protest.