By Mark Duell PUBLISHED: 23:33 EST, 14 April 2013 | UPDATED: 05:44 EST, 15 April 2013 Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor was narrowly elected president of Venezuela today. Nicolas Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver, campaigned in a tight election on a promise to carry on Mr Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution and defeated two-time challenger Henrique Capriles by just 300,000 votes. Today Mr Maduro called for peace and said he would be willing for the election result to be audited after officials said he took 50.8 per cent of votes, compared to 49.1 per cent for Mr Capriles. Champion: Nicolas Maduro (pictured with his wife, Attorney General Cilia Flores) campaigned in a tight election on a promise to carry on Mr Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution and defeated challenger Henrique Capriles
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Nicolas Maduro campaigned to carry on Chavez's socialist revolution
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Calls for peace and says he would be willing for election result audit
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Took 51% of votes compared to challenger Henrique Capriles's 49%
Henrique Capriles
Capriles
Henrique Capriles
Henrique Capriles
Mr @placeholder had been campaigning on claims Mr Chavez's regime had put Venezuela on the road to ruin.
Hugo Chavez
Chavez
Chavez
Chavez
Mr Maduro addressed a crowd from the presidential palace and called his victory further proof that @placeholder ‘continues to be invincible, that he continues to win battles’.
Hugo Chavez
Chavez
Chavez
Chavez
Turnout was 78 per cent, down from just over 80 per cent in the October election that Mr @placeholder won by a nearly 11-point margin.