Scioli, Macri in tight race to first runoff in Argentine history. [View all]

[forest444]

Last edited Mon Oct 26, 2015, 12:20 AM - Edit history (1)

According to provisional results released early on Monday Victory Front candidate Daniel Scioli advanced to a tight lead with 36% over Mauricio Macri, of the "Let's Change" coalition, who obtained 35%. With 89% of the polling stations counted, Sergio Massa, from UNA front, ended in the third place with 21%.

Before any official data was unveiled, the candidates admitted a second-round scenario, which will take place on November 22.

The National Electoral Court (CNE) reported that 79% of the electoral roll voted today, 5 points more than in the PASO primaries held in August and the highest turnout since 1999.

Six candidates competed today to become Argentines’ next president with 32 million people entitled to decide the successor of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who will be leaving office on December 10 after two consecutive terms in office.

The results of the PASO primaries held on August 9 and the polls carried out prior to Sunday's elections forecast Daniel Scioli and Carlos Zannini of the Victory Front (FpV) would be the leading presidential ticket among the six candidates competing today:

Mauricio Macri and Gabriela Michetti for the right-wing Let’s Change coalition;
Sergio Massa and Gustavo Saénz for the centrist UNA alliance;
Margarita Stolbizer and Miguel Angel Olaviaga for the Progressives;
Nicolás Del Caño and Myriam Bregman for the leftist FIT front;
and Adolfo Rodríguez Saá and Liliana Negre de Alonso for the centrist Federal Commitment.

To win outright in the first round, and avoid a runoff election, a candidate requires 45 % of valid votes - or 40% and a 10-point lead over their nearest rival. For the first time since 2003 voters were faced with a runoff, and were without a Kirchner on the presidential ballots when they entered the voting booth.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/201672/scioli-macri-in-tight-race-to-first-runoff-in-argentine-history