Presidential candidate Nicolás Maduro celebrates his victory (Photo: Reuters)

Socialist candidate Nicolas Maduro won a narrow victory in Venezuela's presidential elections. Maduro won 50.66% of the vote against 49.07% for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles. 19 million Venezuelans voted in a Presidential election on Sunday. Ahead of the election, acting President Maduro swore to be loyal to leftist policies, including social programs for the poor which Chavez championed for the last 10 years. Maduro also pledged to boost infrastructure building, ensure social security, and fight corruption. According to pre-election polls, Capriles has always trailed Maduro by at least 10%, and as much as 20% in one poll. The elections were viewed as transparent with the monitoring of more than 3,400 domestic and 240 international observers.

On Monday, Vietnam's Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent congratulatory messages to Venezuela's newly-elected President Nicolas Maduro. The Vietnamese leaders expressed their wish to constantly expand and deepen the friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Venezuela.