Defeated opposition candidate Henrique Capriles has demanded a recount after he was beaten by Hugo Chavez’s hand-picked successor as president in a razor-thin election battle today.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles has launched his bid to succeed Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

President Hugo Chavez won re-election and a new endorsement of his socialist project, surviving his closest race yet after a bitter campaign in which the opposition accused him of unfairly using Venezuela’s oil wealth and his near total control of state institutions to his advantage.

Opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez bowed out of Venezuela’s presidential race, saying he will support his leading rival as the opposition seeks to field a single candidate to challenge President Hugo Chavez.