Mexicans vote in historic election expected to return first woman president

Sunday’s poll is the largest election in the country’s history, with nearly 100 million voters, 70,000 candidates and more than 20,000 positions at stake.

Mexicans headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in a historic election expected to return the country’s first woman president. The two leading presidential candidates are women: Claudia Sheinbaum from the leftist Morena party and Xochitl Gálvez, from the conservative PAN party, who is representing a coalition of opposition parties. The third candidate is Jorge Álvarez Máynez, the youngest in the race, who is representing the center-left Citizens’ Movement. Sunday’s poll is the largest election in the country’s history. More than 98 million voters are registered to cast a ballot in Mexico, and 1.4 million Mexicans are eligible to vote abroad. More than 20,000 positions are set to be filled with an estimated 70,000 candidates vying to become senators, mayors and governors. Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is Sheinbaum’s mentor, greeted supporters as he voted. As Sheinbaum made her way to cast her ballot, she called for Mexicans to vote, telling reporters: “This is a historic day, I am feeling very happy.” Gálvez told reporters on Sunday that she was not nervous and was happy about the large voter turnout. She added that she was expecting it to be a long day and a very close call.