Argentines Vote for Next President

On Sunday, Argentinians voted for their country’s next president.

Many opinion surveys showed that ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli would be the clear winner. Mr. Scioli is governor of Buenos Aires province and the chosen successor of Argentina’s president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

But the surveys were wrong. Mr. Scioli won 35.9 percent, but not enough to win the presidency. Mauricio Macri, the mayor of Buenos Aires, finished in second place with 35.2 percent of the vote.

This means Argentina will hold its first-ever runoff election next month. Voters will choose between the two men on November 22.

Mr. Macri says he wants to lift some financial controls and trade restrictions in an effort to help the country’s economy. The 56-year-old mayor formerly led the Boca Juniors, a popular football club.

Mr. Scioli has promised to defend the central ideas of what observers are calling “kirchnerism.” These are populist beliefs built around trade protectionism, social welfare programs and defense of the working class. The 58-year-old governor adds that he will seek a more measured approach to economic reform.

Under Argentine law, a candidate must have more than 45 percent of the vote to be declared the winner. A candidate can also win with at least 40 percent of the vote and a margin of 10 points over the next candidate.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

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This story is based on reports from VOANews.com. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.