Venezuela's ruling Socialist Party has won a majority of votes in the local elections, giving a major boost to President Nicolas Maduro in his quest to preserve the socialist legacy of his late mentor Hugo Chavez.

According to announcement by the electoral authorities, with 257 of 337 mayoralties counted nationwide, the ruling party won 44.16 percent of votes, versus 40.56 percent for the opposition.

Officials were quoted to have said that the Turn-out was 59 percent and that the vote was seen as the biggest political test yet for President Nicolas Maduro, a referendum on his performance amid soaring crime, high inflation and household shortages.

Maduro, the handpicked heir of leftist icon Hugo Chavez, was narrowly elected to office in April, one month after his popular predecessor died of cancer.

The report further revealed that the balloting began at 6:00 am on Sunday (1030 GMT) to pick 337 mayors and more than 2,000 city councilors, also2 stating that the opposition, which now controls about 50 municipalities, is vying to double that number.

After casting his vote in the capital Caracas, Maduro called on citizens to "respect" the outcome of the vote as the "decision of the people."

"What the National Electoral Council (CNE) says will be sacred," he told reporters.Opposition leader

Henrique Capriles, meanwhile, alleged that the vote was marred by irregularities at polling places, including broken machines.

"There are many reports of abuses," he said after casting his ballot at a Caracas school.

The opposition's greatest challenge will be to retain control of the country's biggest cities - especially the Caracas metropolitan area and the oil city of Maracaibo.

"We need to vote to inflict a defeat on the government because this country is in a hole," said Neida Pernia, a shopkeeper who voted in the affluent Caracas neighborhood of Chacao.