( CNN ) -- Venezuela 's top election official said Thursday that authorities will complete a 100 % audit of votes cast in Sunday 's presidential election . Tibisay Lucena , president of Venezuela 's National Electoral Council , said officials decided on the audit after a lengthy debate . Officials had already audited 54 % of ballot boxes , and now will audit the remaining 46 % , she said . READ MORE : Why Venezuela is so divided . The decision comes after opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski filed complaints with election officials about thousands of alleged violations during Sunday 's vote . `` The electoral power is making this decision in order to preserve a climate of harmony between Venezuelans , but also to isolate violent sectors that are irresponsibly trying to harm democracy , '' Lucena said . Capriles said he accepted the council 's decision Thursday because he believes that the problems his campaign spotted would be detected in the audit of the remaining 46 % . `` I want to congratulate our people , because this was your fight , '' Capriles said late Thursday . Earlier this week , Lucena certified the election results and declared Nicolas Maduro president-elect , despite Capriles ' calls for a vote-by-vote recount . Maduro secured 50.8 % of votes in Sunday 's election , while Capriles won 49 % , election officials said earlier this week . Maduro is scheduled to be sworn in at a ceremony in Caracas on Friday . It was unclear late Thursday whether the audit would impact plans for his inauguration . The audit will take about 30 days and will involve comparing results from voting machines with printed reports and registries containing voters ' signatures , Venezuelan constitutional lawyer Jose Vicente Haro told CNN en EspaÃ±ol . At the time of the electoral council 's announcement , the president-elect was in Lima , Peru , where South American presidents were in an emergency meeting to discuss Venezuela 's elections . The narrow vote margin has sparked mounting tensions in Venezuela after the closely watched election to pick Hugo Chavez 's successor to the presidency . Venezuela 's state-run AVN news agency said at least eight people have been killed in postelection violence across the country . The government news agency tied the deaths to opposition protests and said the victims were all followers of Maduro . CNN could not independently confirm the government reports of violence , and it was unknown whether there were any opposition injuries or fatalities . On nights since the hotly contested vote , supporters of Capriles have banged pots and pans to protest the government 's refusal to recount the votes , while supporters of Maduro have set off fireworks to celebrate his victory and drown out the noise . Before he departed for Lima Thursday , Maduro sharply criticized the opposition in Venezuela and accused them of staging a coup against him . `` In Venezuela we do not have an opposition . ... We have a conspiracy , '' he said . Despite protests , he said he would be inaugurated on Friday with a large ceremony and a military parade `` because our only commitment is to the people and to the memory of Hugo Chavez . '' '' A smiling Capriles urged his supporters Thursday not to be discouraged by Friday 's ceremony , and to stay home listening to salsa music . `` This fight has not finished . ... I am sure that sooner rather than later the truth will come out , '' he said . READ MORE : Tensions mount after tight Venezuelan vote ; government says 7 killed in post-election violence . CNN 's Rafael Romo and Fernando del Rincon contributed to this report .
The decision to audit votes comes after Sunday 's tight presidential election . Comment: Capriles congratulates his supporters , but says `` the fight is not finished '' A swearing-in ceremony for Maduro is scheduled for Friday .