Argentina elects first female president

First lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has won a presidential vote to become Argentina's first elected woman leader.She claimed victory in Sunday's election after official results showed her with well over 40 per cent of the vote."This is a triumph for all Argentines," Fernandez told cheering supporters at her campaign bunker."Instead of putting us in a position of privilege, it gives us bigger responsibilities and greater obligations," she said.Fernandez will take over from President Nestor Kirchner in December in a rare power handover between democratically elected spouses. The Kirchners are Argentina's undisputed power couple and have been called "the Clintons of the South."The 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.After a deep economic crisis in 2001-02, South America's second largest economy has expanded at China-style rates since Kirchner came to office four years ago.Growth has topped 8 per cent a year, driven by strong consumer spending and agricultural exports.However there are also mounting concerns about high inflation, energy shortages and a growing perception among some Argentines the Kirchners may have accumulated too much power.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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ITN | October 29, 2007

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