Buenos Aires ( CNN ) -- Dressed in black , evoking her trademark style , Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner addressed cheering crowds after preliminary vote counts on Sunday showed her heading toward re-election . `` I have come to places in my life I have never thought I 'd arrive . The honor of not just being the first woman elected president but re-elected president ... my partner served as president ... what else could I want ? '' said Fernandez , amid fireworks , car horns and celebratory music . Continuously weaving her role as the nation 's leader with being the widow of former president Nestor Carlos Kirchner , who died in 2010 , Kirchner said she carries her husband 's ideals as she returns to office . Fernandez , 58 , has said her second presidential term will be dedicated to her late husband 's memory . `` Today is a rare day for me , because there are too many feelings , '' said Kirchner in her trademark dramatic tone . `` If I tell you I am happy , I lie , if I tell you I am sad , I lie ... I am not speaking as his widow but as his partner in militancy for the rest of my life , '' she said . Thousands crammed into Buenos Aires ' Plaza de Mayo waving flags and shouting `` Viva Cristina , Viva Peronismo ! ' to welcome back their charismatic leader , the second woman to serve as president of Argentina . Entire families and groups of activists cheered as results trickled in showing the incumbent president with a considerable advantage over her opponents . Activist groups , unions , farmers , laborers and groups of indigenous Argentines waved their flags in a passionate display of support for their candidate . While official results will be announced on Monday , preliminary results showed the incumbent with 52.7 % of the vote . Some analysts in Argentina said this is a historic victory for Argentina , propelling Fernandez as one of the nation 's most popular leaders in recent history . The same analysts also show concern for what has become known as the new `` Cristinismo '' , a populist pro-Fernandez fever which , according to La Nacion writer Luis Majul , leaves very little room for checks and balances . `` Tomorrow , or when the struggle for succession begins , and we become informed of the true cost-of-living indices , poverty and unemployment , some 'soldiers of Cristina ' will recognize that their idolatry was exaggerated by the model , '' Majul wrote . Fernandez , a center-left member of the Peronist party , handily won the primary . Fernandez garnered more than half the country 's votes , making her the undisputed front-runner going into Sunday 's election . Among her closest competitors in the presidential election were Hermes Binner , Ricardo Alfonsin and Eduardo Duhalde.Alfonsin is a member of the opposition Radical Party and the son of the late Raul Alfonsin , who became Argentina 's president in 1983 following seven years of military dictatorship . Duhalde is a long-time Peronist party leader who ruled Argentina from 2002 to 2003 in the wake of the country 's $ 95 billion debt default , which ushered in historically high levels of crime , unemployment and poverty . He was succeeded in May 2003 by Nestor Kirchner , a relatively unknown governor from Patagonia who championed human rights causes and implemented unorthodox financial policies that many credit with helping to bring the Argentine economy back from the brink . In 2007 , Kirchner stepped aside so his wife , Fernandez , could run . She was elected with 45 % of the vote , becoming Argentina 's first elected female president . Under Fernandez 's leadership , Argentina 's economy has enjoyed sustained growth of about 8 % annually . The president points to this expansion and a low debt load as examples of how Argentina is well-positioned to weather the uncertainty in the current global markets . In an August speech , the president said strong economic growth and human rights advances are key to her past and future mandates . `` Strength Argentina ! Forward Argentina ! We will continue growing , with social inclusion , with justice , memory and truth , '' she said . However , her critics contend the economy is only booming because of high commodity prices and have repeatedly accused her government of tampering with economic statistics . Argentina 's official annual inflation rate is around 9 % , but most analysts and consumers suspect it is really three times that number . Kirchner died suddenly from a heart attack in October 2010 , and Fernandez has benefited politically from an outpouring of sympathy . Over the past year , she has worn only black in public , and repeatedly refers to `` him '' in fiery -- and sometimes teary -- campaign speeches . Fernandez , who voted in the city of Rio Gallegos , said this vote evoked memories of her late husband , Argentina 's official TELAM news agency reported . `` I happen to be the wife of a very special man , who had great impact on Argentine politics and is already a part of history '' , she said . Voting is obligatory in Argentina and some 28 million people were eligible to vote in Sunday 's election . CNN 's Brian Byrnes , Claudia Dominguez and Helena de Moura contributed to this report .
NEW : Preliminary results give the incumbent a comfortable lead . Cristina Fernández de Kirchner went into Sunday 's vote as the undisputed front - runner . Her supporters filled the Plaza de Mayo . Fernandez , 58 , has said her second term will be dedicated to her late husband 's memory .