Argentines went to the polls Sunday in a closely watched vote that marks the end of a political dynasty.
For President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who’s slated to leave office in December after eight years at the helm, it’s a test of whether the candidate she supports will win and extend her political legacy.
For a region where leftist movements have played a growing role, it’s an election that could shift the balance of power if the more conservative candidate wins.
And for the finance world, it’s a long-awaited moment that could change how the South American country handles its debt problems and interacts with Wall Street.
The presidential runoff — Argentina’s first ever — pits Daniel Scioli of Fernandez’s Front for Victory against Mauricio Macri of the Let’s Change coalition.
Preliminary results from Sunday’s vote placed Macri in the lead, but officials announcing the early numbers noted that results from only a small percentage of polling stations had been counted. With results from just over 30% of polling stations counted, Macri was leading with more than 54% of the vote, while Scioli had garnered nearly 46%.
Neither candidate won enough support during the first round of voting to win. In that election last month, Scioli won 37.08% of votes and Macri garnered 34.15%.
Scioli was the first of the candidates to vote on Sunday, invoking the name of the Argentine-born pontiff on Twitter as he urged his fellow citizens to cast their ballots.
“I ask that you vote in favor, that you go in search of the best for Argentina, vote your conscience as Pope Francis has said,” he said.
Opposition candidate Macri described the election as a “historic day” on Twitter.
And Fernandez noted her family’s legacy after she voted, referring to her two terms as President and the four years her husband, the late Nestor Kirchner, served as Argentina’s leader.
“We have never had a period of government of 12 and a half years with this social and economic stability and of constant progress,” she said.
