Physicist leads the way – Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s first female president

According to a projection by the electoral authority INE on Monday morning (CEST), the left-wing politician was unattainably in the lead based on partial results. Accordingly, the former mayor of Mexico City received more than 50 percent of the vote. A simple majority is enough to win the elections.

Chart: Mexican Electoral Authority results (as of 9:21 a.m.)

Extrapolation postponed several times
Sheinbaum, candidate of the ruling left-wing Morena party, is likely to receive 58 to 60 percent of the vote, according to the INE forecast. The opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez – tech entrepreneur and independent former senator – is in second place with 26.6 to 28.6 percent of the votes.

The election authority’s projection had been postponed several times without justification.

With a count of 37 percent, Sheinbaum had about 57 percent of the votes, according to data from the electoral authority, while her competitor Gálvez had just under 30 percent. The only man among the applicants, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, received about ten percent.

20,000 new public vacancies filled
In addition to the presidency, Congress, the governments of several states and more than 20,000 public offices were also replaced on this largest election day in the history of the Latin American country.

Nearly 100 million voting citizens were called to the polls. Both the election campaign and the vote were marked by violent incidents. The media reported violence in front of some polling stations. The head of state takes office on October 1.