Nicolas Maduro declares victory in Venezuela election

Caracas: Venezuela's acting President Nicolas Maduro declared victory on Sunday in the race to succeed late leader Hugo Chavez after the electoral council announced that he had won in a close battle.

"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.