Venezuela's acting President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the election to succeed his late mentor Hugo Chavez on Sunday by a razor-thin margin over an opponent that voiced fears of vote manipulation. Fireworks erupted after the National Electoral Council announced that near complete results showed Maduro had won with just 50.66 percent of the vote compared to 49.1 percent for opposition rival Henrique Capriles -- a difference of less than 300,000 votes.

In every election, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez sent crowds into a frenzy when he cast his ballot at the same school in a poor neighborhood of Caracas, but on Sunday it was a scene of mournful calm. As they voted to choose the late leftist leader's successor in the January 23 barrio, voters lamented the absence of their larger-than-life hero, who dominated Venezuelan politics for 14 years.

Venezuelans flocked to the polls Sunday to pick late leader Hugo Chavez's successor, choosing between the handpicked heir of his socialist revolution and an opponent vowing change in the divided nation. After a brief and bitter campaign, supporters of acting President Nicolas Maduro played military-style bugles to wake up people before dawn to vote in an election pitting him against opposition rival Henrique Capriles.

In every election, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez sent crowds into a frenzy when he cast his ballot at the same school in a poor neighborhood of Caracas, but on Sunday it was a scene of mournful calm. As they voted to choose the late leftist leader's successor in the January 23 barrio, voters lamented the absence of their larger-than-life hero, who dominated Venezuelan politics for 14 years.