The Argentine presidential race is set for a Nov. 22 runoff between President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner-backed candidate, Daniel Scioli, and opposition candidate, Mauricio Macri, according to provisional results released early Monday.
With nearly 90 percent of the votes counted, initial results show that Scioli is leading with 36.08 percent of vote and Macri has 35 percent, according to Buenos Aires Herald.
A candidate needs more than 40 percent of the vote and a lead of 10 percent over the rival candidates or more than 45 percent of the vote to win the first round of presidential election, according to Telesurtv. The run-off election will take place on Nov. 22.
"What happened today will change politics in this country," Macri, the outgoing Buenos Aires mayor, told his supporters after the initial outcome, according to Reuters.
"Argentina will vote to continue the same way or a change in its history. Let's hope they vote for the change. It is a time for much responsibility for the citizenship," Macri said after casting his ballot on Sunday, according to Buenos Aires Herald.
Scioli, Governor of Buenos Aires province, hinted at the possibility of a run-off even before the counting started. "I call upon the undecided and independent voters to join this cause. Changes must lead us forward, not backwards, and they must always include the most needed ones," he said in a speech to his supporters on Sunday, according to RT.
