The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Buenos Aires

First lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will become Argentina's first elected woman leader after easily winning a presidential vote that was largely a referendum on her husband's economic successes.

Fernandez claimed victory in Sunday's election as official results showed her with well over 40 percent of the vote and a big lead over her closest rival, enough to avoid a runoff vote next month.

With results in from almost two-thirds of polling stations, Fernandez had 43.6 percent support, followed by former lawmaker Elisa Carrio, who had 22.6 percent and conceded defeat.

"This is a triumph for all Argentines," Fernandez told cheering supporters at her campaign bunker in a message that also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.

"Instead of putting us in a position of privilege, it gives us bigger responsibilities and greater obligations," she said of the election victory.

The Kirchners are Argentina's undisputed power couple and have been called "the Clintons of the South."

Fernandez, a 54-year-old lawyer, is one of her husband's key aides and a longtime senator. Voters weary of Argentina's repeated boom-and-bust cycles said they hope she will deepen the economic course set by her husband.