Cristina Kirchner set to be re-elected as Argentina’s president

Exit polls predict landslide victory for current president, making her first woman in Latin America to twice win the presidency Argentina’s president Cristina Kirchner is set to be re-elected by a landslide on Sunday, buoyed by popular government programmes to spread the wealth of a booming economy. Exit polls predicted Kirchner would end up with between 54% and 55% of the vote, putting her far ahead of her closest rival in the biggest presidential victory since Argentina’s democracy was restored three decades ago. The victory makes Kirchner the first woman re-elected as president in Latin America. It’s also the first in a lifetime of politics without her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, who died of a heart attack last year. Her voice almost broke when she spoke about this legacy, describing a mixture of pride and sorrow after casting her ballot in his hometown, the remote Patagonian city of Rio Gallegos. “In this world where they have criticised us so forcefully, all this makes me feel very proud, that we’re on the right track. He [Nestor] would be very content,” she said. Kirchner could have won with as little as 40% of the vote if none of her rivals came within 10 percentage points of her. Exit polls published in the Argentine media indicated she would win with a margin of about 40 points over socialist Hermes Binner, the closest of six rival candidates. Her Front for Victory coalition hoped to regain enough seats in Congress to form new alliances and regain the control it lost in 2009. Elections were held for 130 seats in the lower house and 24 in the Senate. While official results were not expected until hours after polls closed on Sunday night, Kirchner appeared to have won a larger share of votes than any president since Argentina’s democracy was restored in 1983, when Raul Alfonsin was elected with 52%. She would still trail her hero, Juan Domingo Peron, who won with 60% and 63% in his last two elections. Fernandez, 58, chose her youthful, guitar-playing, long-haired economy minister, Amado Boudou, as her running mate. Together, the pair championed Argentina’s approach to the global financial crisis: increase government spending rather than impose austerity measures, and force investors in foreign debt to suffer before ordinary citizens. Boudou was waiting for official results before declaring victory. Well after the polls closed, he tweeted: “Thanks to all the Argentines for this day of celebration, without violence and with love for the country. Now, to await the results.” Argentina Cristina Kirchner Néstor Kirchner Americas guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.