Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico’s electoral authority, the National Election Institute (INE), announced late Sunday night the quick count of the votes collected during election day, revealing Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s mayor and the candidate of the ruling MORENA party, would become Mexico’s next president.
Around midnight, INE’s Presiding Councilor, Guadalupe Taddei, shared the quick count results, with Sheinbaum sweeping the election with an impressive margin, securing more than 58% of the vote. This rate was even higher than the votes won by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and founder of the National Regeneration Movement party (Morena) in 2018.
As of Monday morning, with 79% of votes counted, Sheinbaum had received 58.8% of votes, with voter turnout around the country at about 60%.
Sheinbaum and MORENA’s political opposition, candidate Xochitl Gálvez Ruíz, came in second place, with 28%, while Jorge Álvarez Maynez achieved around 10% of votes.
Since beginning the campaign trail, Sheinbaum has led almost every poll. The 61-year-old with a PhD in Environmental Engineering, as the mayor of Mexico City, accompanied her political mentor and outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during his administration.
Sheinbaum has promised to be a direct continuation of López Obrador’s government, ensuring an administration almost exactly like the one led by the current president.
With the election results, Sheinbaum will become the first woman president in Mexico, as well as the first Jewish president in Mexico’s history.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Through his X account, López Obrador congratulated his candidate, underscoring that Sheinbaum could be the President with “possibly the most votes obtained in the history of our country.” Many have said that Sheinbaum’s election is an affirmation of the Mexican peoples’ approval of the outgoing López Obrador.
“The President of INE has just announced the quick count of the presidential election results. I congratulate all the participating candidates … Of course, with all my respect and affection, I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum, who won this race with a wide margin and will be the first woman president of Mexico in 200 years,” said López Obrador.
According to INE data, the estimated voter turnout is between 58.9 and 61.7 % of the nominal voter list, which includes 98 million eligible voters, a marginal lower outcome than that reported in 2018’s presidential elections, which reported 63% of voter turnout.
In addition, INE authorities reported an outstanding voter turnout from abroad, with more than 180,000 Mexicans living outside the country casting their votes.
Lastly, the opposition candidate, Xochitl Gálvez, acknowledged the election results. In a press conference called after the quick count disclosurer, Gálvez Ruíz assured a democratic transition by recognizing Sheinbaum’s victory.
“I have always been a democrat firmly committed to respecting the law … Therefore I recognize that the trends for the presidential election do not favor me and that there is no information to suggest that this may change by the district computations. A few minutes ago, I communicated with Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum to recognize the election result,” said Gálvez.
