"To know how to win, you have to know how to lose," Capriles said at this campaign headquarters. "For me, what the people say is sacred."
"I am a democrat, through and through," he said. "I accept and respect the decision of the people."
"I want to congratulate the candidate, the president of the republic," said Capriles, wearing a jacket in the yellow, blue and red colors of the Venezuelan flag.
Chavez won 54.42 percent of the vote compared to 44.97 percent for Capriles, according to near-complete results released by the National Electoral Council.
Based on 90 percent of the results, Chavez won 7,444,082 votes, compared to 6,151,554 for Capriles. Turnout was a massive 80.94 percent of the 19 million eligible voters.
The 9.45-point margin of victory is close to the 10-point lead Chavez was given in the latest opinion poll.
Other polls had put the candidates in the virtual tie, raising hopes in the once-divided opposition that they were close to defeating Chavez.
The president had won the 2006 election with 62 percent of the vote, a 25-point lead over opposition candidate Manuel Rosales. He won his first election with 56 percent of the vote in 1998.