Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the wife of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, will take her husband's job Dec. 10, after beating her closest rival by a wide margin to become the country's first elected female president.

Fernandez will be Argentina's second female president; Isabel Peron, who married Juan Peron after Eva Peron's death, was his vice-president when he died in 1974 and served for 20 chaotic months before a military coup.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner makes the victory sign to supporters at her party's headquarters in Buenos Aires after winning the Argentine presidential election Sunday.
(Daniel Luna/Associated Press)

Following Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Fernandez will become the second woman to take a South American country's highest office.

Some analysts predicted Fernandez would sweep the female vote and it appeared on Sunday night that they were right.

Argentinean women interviewed by AP Television in Buenos Aires seemed to like the idea of a woman running the country.

"The fact that she is a woman means that she has different ideals and more sensitivity, and she looks like a very intelligent woman," said Flor Bernardo.

The runner-up was also a woman.

With more than 96 per cent of polling stations reporting, Fernandez had 45 per cent of the vote, with former lawmaker Elisa Carrio getting 23 per cent and former economy minister Roberto Lavagna getting 17 per cent.

Carrio said on Monday she was proud of being the new leader of the Argentine opposition.

Her party, the Civic Coalition or Coalicion Civica, is a political coalition that includes socialists and Peronists.

"We, women, we like more to see things being born rather than take possession of something that already exists. Having gone through many adversities in the last years, get the chance to witness and be part of the creation of this big political reality that we have, it is the biggest prize that a woman and a person can experience and the best legacy I can leave to my children and all the children of Argentina," Carrio said.

Fernandez has a tough job

Fernandez rode into the presidency on her husband's shoulders but she has a tough job ahead.

Argentina's economy is overheating, voters are angry about inflation and crime and unpopular hikes in utility rates seem inevitable.

Fernandez ran an unorthodox campaign, refusing to debate and spending much of the time abroad in photo ops with world leaders.

Her success was largely due to the accomplishments of Kirchner, who oversaw a recovery from a deep financial crisis, with growth rates of more than 8 per cent a year.

But one-quarter of Argentina's 37 million people still live in poverty, 9 per cent are unemployed and all are struggling with inflation that analysts agree is much higher than the government admits.