Claudia Sheinbaum

Claudia Sheinbaum has been elected as Mexico’s first female president, in a historic landslide win.

Mexico’s official electoral authority said preliminary results showed the 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City winning between 58% and 60% of the vote in Sunday’s election.

That gives her a lead of about 30 percentage points over her main rival, businesswoman Xóchitl Gálvez.

Ms Sheinbaum will replace her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on 1 October.

But in her victory speech she also highlighted what has set this Mexican election apart from previous ones. She told cheering voters: “For the first time in the 200 years of the [Mexican] Republic, I will become the first woman president of Mexico.”

She said it was an achievement not just for her but for all women.

“I’ve said it from the start, this is not just about me getting [to the top office], it’s about all of us getting here.”

She added: “I won’t fail you.”