White House says audit of Venezuela election is necessary step

The White House said today that auditing Venezuela's close election that was narrowly won by Nicholas Maduro, the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's chosen successor, was a necessary and prudent step.

Mr Maduro edged out opposition challenger Henrique Capriles with 50.7 per cent of the votes, according to election board returns. Mr Capriles took 49.1 per cent.

"Given the tightness of the result - around 1 per cent of the votes cast separate the candidates - the opposition candidate and at least one member of the electoral council have called for a 100 per cent audit of the results," White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing.

"This appears an important, prudent and necessary step to ensure that all Venezuelans have confidence in these results," Mr Carney said. "In our view rushing to a decision in these circumstances would be inconsistent with the expectations of Venezuelans for a clear and democratic outcome."

Mr Chavez's chosen successor Nicolas Maduro won the election by a whisker but now faces opposition protests plus a host of economic and political challenges in the Opec nation.

Mr Capriles, whose strong showing confounded most forecasts, refused to recognize the result and said his team had a list of more than 3,000 irregularities ranging from gunshots to the illegal reopening of polling centers.

"I didn't fight against a candidate today, but against the whole abuse of power," said Mr Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, demanding a recount.

"Mr Maduro, you were the loser ... This system is collapsing, it's like a castle of sand - touch it and it falls."

A protracted election dispute could cause instability in a deeply polarised nation with the world's largest oil reserves.

Though some opposition supporters chanted "fraud," burned tyres, and banged pots and pans in protest, Mr Capriles did not call them onto the streets en masse.

Mr Maduro said he would accept a full recount, even as he insisted his victory was clean and dedicated it to Chavez.

Officials said he would be formally proclaimed winner by the election board at a ceremony and rally in downtown Caracas today afternoon despite the ongoing controversy.

"I won ... we've had a fair, legal and constitutional triumph," Mr Maduro told his victory rally on Sunday night, saying he would also be vigiliant against destabilisation.

"We will know what to do if someone raises their insolent voice against the people."

The election board said Mr Maduro's win was "irreversible" and gave no indication of when it might carry out an audit. Critics say four of its five members are openly pro-government.

"Capriles should complain to the whole world. We need to check the votes box by box," said opposition supporter and construction worker Fernando Cabreara (48).

Mr Maduro's slim victory provides an inauspicious start for the "Chavismo" movement's transition to a post-Chavez era, and raises the possibility that he could face challenges from rivals within the disparate leftist coalition.

Mr Chavez beat Mr Capriles by 11 percentage points and 1.6 million votes in October, showing how quickly the gap between the two sides has eroded without the larger-than-life presence of the former leader.

Opinion polls had all predicted a comfortable win for Mr Maduro, due to emotion over Mr Chavez's death and the popularity of his social welfare programs, but they had also shown the gap narrowing fast in the final days.

Even so, the result took most Venezuelans by surprise.

The sympathy effect for Mr Maduro from Mr Chavez's death was clearly wearing off. And Mr Capriles' message on the campaign - slamming his rival as an incompetent and poor copy of Mr Chavez unable to fix the nation's myriad problems - had hit home.

Mr Maduro was unable to match his former boss's charisma and electrifying speeches, but nevertheless benefited from a well-oiled party machine and poor Venezuelans' fears that the opposition might abolish Mr Chavez's slum development projects.

The close election outcome capped an extraordinary two years for Venezuelans since Mr Chavez's cancer was diagnosed in mid-2011, plunging the nation into uncertainty.

"The unpredictable narrow margin of the election results has proven how volatile the political scenario is," said Venezuelan political analyst Diego Moya-Ocampos.

"The death of Chavez was a game changer that is leading to the gradual reorganization of political power in Venezuela, in which the armed forces will play a key role behind the scenes."

The election raises doubts about the long-term appeal and durability of the movement that Mr Chavez built, led and held together throughout his 14 years in power.

Mr Maduro's supporters set off fireworks overnight and some sang and danced in the streets, but celebrations were far more muted than after Chavez's re-election last year.

"On one hand, we're happy, but the result is not exactly what we had expected," said Gregory Belfort (32) a computer technician looking slightly dazed with other government supporters in front of the presidential palace.

"It means there are a lot of people out there who support Chavez but didn't vote for Maduro, which is valid."