Members of the media work on the preliminary results of the general election in Mexico City, Mexico, June 2, 2024. /CFP
Mexico's ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum is on course to win the country's presidential election, according to preliminary results.
The 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor clinched around 58 percent of votes, according to the results.
An initial official result was expected on Sunday night and the winner will begin a six-year term on October 1.
Nearly 100 million people were registered to vote in the country of 129 million.
Besides choosing a new president, Mexicans voted for members of the Congress, several state governors and myriad local officials – a total of more than 20,000 positions.
Sheinbaum's ruling MORENA party has also declared its candidate the winner of the Mexico City mayorship race, one of the country's most important races, though the opposition has disputed the claim, saying its own nominee won the contest.
Sunday's vote was marred by the killing of two people at polling stations in Puebla state, adding to multiple attacks in which 38 candidates have been killed.
Read more: Political murders on the rise ahead of Mexico's elections
Presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum speaks prior to the first presidential debate in Mexico City, Mexico, April 7, 2024. /CFP
Security fears dominated the concerns of many voters at the polls and Sheinbaum will be tasked with confronting organized crime.
Sheinbaum has pledged to continue the outgoing president's "hugs not bullets" strategy of tackling crime at its roots.
Among the new president's challenges will be tense negotiations with the United States over the huge flows of U.S.-bound migrants crossing Mexico and security cooperation over drug trafficking as the U.S. fentanyl epidemic rages.
At home, the next president will be tasked with addressing electricity and water shortages and luring manufacturers to relocate as part of the nearshoring trend, in which companies move supply chains closer to their main markets.
The election winner will also have to wrestle with what to do with Pemex, the state oil giant that has seen production decline for two decades and is drowning in debt.
Sheinbaum has promised to expand welfare programs, though Mexico has a large deficit this year and sluggish GDP growth of just 1.5 percent expected by the central bank next year.
(With input from agencies)