Claudia Sheinbaum has secured a landslide victory to become Mexico's first female president. She inherits the project of her mentor and outgoing leader, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose popularity among the poor significantly contributed to her victory.

Former mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum, clinched the presidency with between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote, as indicated by a rapid sample count conducted by Mexico's electoral authority. This is poised to be the highest vote percentage in the country’s democratic history.

The ruling coalition was also heading towards a potential two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress. This would grant the coalition the ability to enact constitutional reforms without needing support from the opposition, as indicated by the range of results provided by the electoral authority, Reuters reports.

The candidate for the opposition, Xochitl Galvez, conceded defeat after preliminary results indicated she secured between 26.6% and 28.6% of the vote.

“For the first time in the 200 years of the republic I will become the first woman president of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said after the win.

Sheinbaum is the first woman to secure victory in a general election in the United States, Mexico or Canada.

In her victory speech, Sheinbaum expressed gratitude to Lopez Obrador, defining him as “a unique person who has transformed our country for the better.”

She has pledged to continue his policies, such as implementing a universal pension for the elderly and initiating a program that pays young people to pursue apprenticeships.

“We will dedicate public funds to continue the president's social programmes,” Sheinbaum said.

She also added there would be a “friendly relationship” with the US, stating “we will always defend Mexicans” in the US.

However, the celebration of having two female front-runners was dampened by violent attacks during the election campaign. 

Additionally, alongside the election of a new president, voters were also casting ballots for all members of Mexico's Congress, governors in eight states, the head of Mexico City's government, and thousands of local officials.

Local candidates were particularly targeted in the lead-up to the vote, BBC reports.

According to the government, over 20 were killed across the country, yet other surveys said as many as 37 lost their lives.