Maduro was named winner late Sunday local time with 51 percent of the votes, the election authority said.

"These are the irreversible results that the people have decided," National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena told a news conference,

Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles was Maduro's main challenger. He took 49 percent of the ballots.

Maduro was named as deceased former President Hugo Chavez's successor and had been ahead in pre-election polls. A 50-year-old former bus driver and union leader, Maduro served as foreign minister and vice president under Chavez.

dr/gsw (Reuters, AFP)