Argentina’s presidential run-off will be decided in a second round run-off on 22nd November after a surprisingly strong performance by opposition alliance Cambiemos in yesterday’s election.
With 90.2% of voting tables counted, Frente para la Victoria (FpV) candidate Daniel Scioli had received 36.2% of the vote, while Cambiemos leader Mauricio Macri took 34.9%. Unidos por una Nueva Alternativa (UNA) candidate Sergio Massa came third with 21.3%.
Daniel Scioli (left) and Mauricio Macri will face off for the presidency on 22nd November.
The result came as a shock for many as most opinion polls had suggested Scioli would win comfortably. The incumbent governor of Buenos Aires province had received 38.4% support in the August primaries, while Macri’s coalition gathered just over 30%.
In a triumphant speech at the Cambiemos bunker, a delighted Macri said that “What’s happened today changes the politics of this country.” Vidal also spoke to jubilant supporters, saying that “tonight we made history.”
Speaking several hours before the official results were known, Scioli called for support from “undecided and independent” voters in an address that sounded much like a campaign speech.
Macri and Scioli will now face off in a head-to-head race on 22nd November, the first time a presidential run-off has been held in Argentina.
There was also a shock result in the province of Buenos Aires, home to over a third of the electorate and a traditional stronghold for the FpV. Here, Cambiemos candidate María Eugenia Vidal was elected governor with 39.7% of the vote, beating cabinet chief Aníbal Fernández (35.0%).
Voter turnout was estimated at over 80%, five points higher than in the August primaries.
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