The wife of outgoing President Nestor Kirchner, could become Argentina's first elected female president. Preliminary official results gave her 43% of the vote.
Kirchner's nearest rivals, Elisa Carrio of the center-left Civic Coalition and ex-Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna, have so far scored 20% and 19% of the vote respectively, election officials said.
They both admitted defeat. Carrio performed better than Kirchner in Argentina's major cities, including the capital, but was outstripped by Kirchner elsewhere in the country. With such a wide margin for Kirchner, the opposition's hopes for a run-off poll have faded.
Cristina Kirchner has pledged to carry on with reforms undertaken by her husband, who presided over the country's return to stability by imposing strict state regulations in the economy after an acute crisis, which impoverished the nation, six years ago.
