Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro described the election result as a triumph of peace and stability to cheering supporters in Caracas.
President Nicolás Maduro has won Venezuela's presidential election, according to partial results announced by the electoral council.
The head of the National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso - who is a close ally of Mr. Maduro - said with 80 per cent of ballots counted, President Maduro had 51 per cent of the vote, compared with 44 per cent for his main rival.
Mr. Maduro described the result as a triumph of peace and stability to cheering supporters in Caracas - praising the Venezuelan election system and mocking his opponents.
The Venezuelan opposition dismissed the CNE's announcement as fraudulent and promised to challenge the result.
It said its candidate, Edmundo González, had won with 70 per cent of the votes and insisted he was the rightful president-elect.
Opposition parties had united behind Mr. González in an attempt to unseat President Maduro after 11 years in power.
Opinion polls conducted ahead of the election had suggested Mr. González would roundly defeat the president.
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