The White House said on Monday that auditing Venezuela's close election that was narrowly won by Nicholas Maduro, the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez's chosen successor, was a necessary and prudent step.
Maduro edged out opposition challenger Henrique Capriles with 50.7 percent of the votes, according to election board returns. Capriles took 49.1 percent. [IDn:nL2N0D20AE]
"Given the tightness of the result - around 1 percent of the votes cast separate the candidates - the opposition candidate and at least one member of the electoral council have called for a 100 percent audit of the results," White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing.
"This appears an important, prudent and necessary step to ensure that all Venezuelans have confidence in these results," Carney said. "In our view rushing to a decision in these circumstances would be inconsistent with the expectations of Venezuelans for a clear and democratic outcome."
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