MikeLigalig.com

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNN)  -- Argentine first lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner declared victory Sunday night as election returns showed her leading all rivals in her bid to succeed her husband and become the country's first female president.

housands of supporters lined up outside the Buenos Aires hotel where she delivered her victory speech, banging drums, waving flags and chanting, "Cristina, Cristina."

Fernandez de Kirchner called her victory "a triumph for all Argentines" and thanked supporters for entrusting her with the "major responsibility" of the presidency.

She also thanked her husband, center-left President Nestor Kirchner, who is expected to switch roles and become the leading adviser to his wife once she takes office.

Fernandez de Kirchner has been a top adviser to her husband during his four years in office and serves in the country's Senate. During the campaign, she promised to continue his economic policies, which she credited with reviving the country's economy after the country's 2001-2002 financial meltdown.

With just over two-thirds of polling places reporting, Fernandez had about 43 percent of the vote, compared with 23 percent for former lawmaker Elisa Carrio and 18 percent for former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna, The Associated Press reported. Eleven others split the rest.

Six independent television networks, a private radio station and an opposition newspaper reported their exit polling indicated Fernandez has easily won a first-round victory.

But no opposition candidates conceded defeat, and Carrio spokesman Matias Mendez said seven parties had filed a complaint alleging that ballots were missing or stolen in Buenos Aires province, the country's most populous.

Electoral officials denied any irregularities, but a judge extended voting by an hour in the capital after many of Argentina's 12,700 polling stations opened late. A representative of the ruling party was arrested on suspicion of trying to vote twice.

The Kirchners have drawn comparisons to former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential front-runner in the 2008 U.S. elections.

The next president, who begins a four-year term on December 10, faces challenges including high inflation, an energy shortage and rampant crime in a country that a century ago ranked among the world's 10 richest.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=5996.0