Claudia Sheinbaum is projected to win Mexico’s presidential election and become the first woman to lead the country’s government, according to preliminary results reported by the National Electoral Institute (INE), writes CNN.

Sheinbaum, the candidate of Mexico’s ruling party Morena, won between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote, according to INE"s quick count, a statistical method that predicts the trend in voting from a random sample of polling stations.

Opposition coalition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez trailed Sheinbaum with between 26.6% and 28.6% of the vote.

The Citizen Movement candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez came in third place with between 9.9% and 10.8% of the vote.

The Electoral Court must validate the presidential election. If it does, Sheinbaum will start her presidency on October 1.