61-year-old Claudia Sheinbaum, the ruling party candidate and climate scientist, is expected to win and become the country’s first female president.
Polls closed in a national vote in Mexico on Sunday that is set to give Mexico its first female president.
Claudia Sheinbaum has led in exit polls over her primary opponent, Sophie Galvez, as the head of the country’s ruling Morena party.
Election day in Mexico was marked by violence as town council candidate Israel Delgado was shot dead by two hitmen aboard a motorcycle in the township of Cuitzeo.
Residents voted under a heavy police guard — but later passed by the home of murdered candidate Israel Delgado to light a candle for the well-known local politician at an improvised altar on his doorstep.
Nearly 100 million people were registered to vote, but turnout appeared to be slightly lower than in past elections. Voters were also electing governors in nine of the country’s 32 states, and choosing candidates for both houses of Congress, thousands of mayors and other local posts, in the biggest elections the nation has seen.
Sheinbaum has promised to continue the policies of her predecessor López Obrador’s policies, including a universal pension for the elderly and a programme that pays youths to become apprentices.
She is also a climate activist and academic who critics say lacks López Obrador’s mass appeal. Sheinbaum has said her administration will follow the outgoing president’s policies, but with more data to back up her decisions.
Her main opponent Gálvez, a tech entrepreneur and former senator, attempted to seize on Mexicans’ concerns about security, promising to take a more aggressive approach to organised crime.
The elections were widely seen as a referendum on López Obrador, who has largely failed to bring down gun violence in Mexico. His Morena party currently holds 23 of the 32 governorships and a simple majority of seats in both houses of Congress. Mexico’s constitution prohibits the president’s re-election.
About 27 candidates — mostly running for mayor or town councils — have been killed so far this year. The election has seen an unprecedented number of mass shootings as criminals target whole campaign events with gunfire.
Persistent cartel violence and Mexico’s economy were primary issues on voters’ minds.
