An additional 13 per cent of Kirchner supporters say their vote was based on her projects and plans for the country, while 9.8 per cent saw her as the best candidate.

On Oct. 28, Fernández de Kirchner won Argentina’s presidential election with 44.9 per cent of the vote as the candidate for the Front for Victory (FV). Elisa Carrió of the Civic Coalition (CC) finished second with 23 per cent, followed by Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 16.9 per cent.

Among respondents who voted for Carrió, 19.2 per cent believe she was the opposition’s best candidate, 18.1 per cent mention her project and plans, 16.5 per cent think she represented change, and 14.2 per cent cite her personal attributes.

Fernández de Kirchner, who will succeed her husband, Néstor Kirchner, is expected to take office on Dec. 10. The left-leaning outgoing president was praised for achieving economic stability and growth after a major crisis in 2001.

On Oct. 29, Fernández de Kirchner suggested she will keep working hand-in-hand with her husband, declaring, "Since 2003 we’ve fought poverty, unemployment and the things that caused so much damage and brought so much tragedy to the Argentine people. We’re going to construct a different history."

Polling Data

To respondents who voted for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner – Why did you choose to vote for this particular candidate?

To respondents who voted for Elisa Carrió – Why did you choose to vote for this particular candidate?

Source: CEOP
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,000 Argentine adults, conducted on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, 2007. Margin of error is 1.8 per cent.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 16 per cent, followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 11 per cent, San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with seven per cent, Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with two per cent, Jorge Sobisch of United Provinces Movement (MPU) with one per cent, and Fernando Solanas of Project South (PS) also with one per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the election held in April 2003. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV). Kirchner was eligible for re-election, but decided to back his wife’s bid instead

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

On Oct. 25, Fernández de Kirchner discussed her views on pregnancy termination, saying, "I have always defined myself as ‘against abortion.’ I don’t think people who want to decriminalize abortion are actually in favour of it." Lavagna defended existing legislation on the issue, saying, "There can be conflictive situations related to life and the health of a mother, but these are taken care of in the Penal Code."

The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: Carlos Fara y Asociados
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,100 Argentine adults, conducted from Oct. 17 to Oct. 21, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 15.7 per cent, followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 10.6 per cent, San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with 6.5 per cent, and Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 3.2 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the election held in April 2003. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV). Kirchner was eligible for re-election, but decided to back his wife’s bid instead

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

On Oct. 24, Menem slammed current president Kirchner, saying, "He is not a peronist, he is a populist and he represents the worst kind of populism. To me, he is the anti-Christ." Menem briefly considered joining the presidential race this year, but ended up endorsing Rodríguez Saá instead.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: CEOP
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 2,800 Argentine adults, conducted in mid-October 2007. Margin of error is 1.8 per cent.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 15.9 per cent—up two points in two weeks—followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 10.6 per cent, San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with 4.9 per cent, and Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 2.8 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the election held in April 2003. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV). Kirchner was eligible for re-election, but decided to back his wife’s bid instead.

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

Yesterday, Lavagna said he would remain "active in political life" regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, adding, "My alliance is very different from previous ones, and more akin to the Chilean style."

In Chile, the centre-left Agreement of Parties for Democracy (CPD)—which includes the Socialist Party (PS), the Christian-Democratic Party of Chile (PCD), the Party for Democracy (PD) and the Radical Social-Democratic Party (PRSD)—has not lost a single presidential election since the return of democracy after the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in March 1990.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: Analogías
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 4,000 Argentine adults, conducted in mid-October 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 16.1 per cent, followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 11.6 per cent, San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with 5.8 per cent, and Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 1.6 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the election held in April 2003. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV). Kirchner was eligible for re-election, but decided to back his wife’s bid instead

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

On Oct. 19, Lavagna criticized the Kirchner administration’s record on fighting crime, saying policy-making has been affected by an unwillingness to accept existing data on crime rates. Lavagna declared: "The government denies everything that contradicts their ideal image of the country. (…) It creates an illusory image and that’s why it can’t solve the problems.’’

The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: Opinión Pública, Servicios y Mercados (OPSM)
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,100 Argentine adults, conducted in mid-October 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Support for Fernández de Kirchner remained practically the same comparing to September, while Carrió—of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI)—gained three points.

Former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) is third with 11.1 per cent, followed by San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with 5.4 per cent, and Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 3.5 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the election held in April 2003. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV). Kirchner was eligible for re-election, but decided to back his wife’s bid instead

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

On Oct. 21, Carrió said she is confident she will become president if her main contender fails to win an outright victory in the first round of voting, declaring, "I can’t be irresponsible and predict there will be a run-off at this point, but I can say that if there is one I will be president." Carrió said she believes there will be a second round of voting, adding, "There is a great number of undecided voters. (…) There are a lot of people that don’t want to vote for Cristina. I don’t know what would have happened if the candidate was the president and not her."

The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the presidential election?

Source: Hugo Haime y Asociados Methodology: Interviews to 2,500 Argentine voters, conducted from Oct. 11 to Oct. 16, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 13.9 per cent, followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 10.6 per cent, and Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 2.9 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the 2003 election. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV).

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

A large portion of Fernández de Kirchner’s campaign has been staged outside Argentina. On Sept. 28, Lavagna criticized her approach, saying, "Her campaign consists principally of having her picture taken abroad."

The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: Analogías
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 4,000 Argentine adults, conducted in October 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 15.4 per cent, followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 9.3 per cent, San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with 6.5 per cent, Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 2.6 per cent, and Neuquen governor Jorge Sobisch with 0.8 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the 2003 election. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV).

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

A large portion of Fernández de Kirchner’s campaign has been developed outside Argentina. In late September, José Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for the non-profit organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), referred to the candidate’s knowledge and interest in international affairs, saying, "Argentina under Cristina Kirchner is going to develop a very visible foreign policy. (…) If she finds the angle, I don’t think she will be shy to actively engage Argentina in difficult human rights cases like the Sudan or Burma."

The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: Opinión Pública, Servicios y Mercados (OPSM)
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,100 Argentine adults, conducted in October 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 14.6 per cent, followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 10.2 per cent, San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with 4.6 per cent, and Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 3.5 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the 2003 election. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV).

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

Rising inflation has become one of the main issues in the presidential campaign. The Kirchner government has been accused of manipulating inflation data ahead of the election. While official data says inflation will stand below the 10 per cent mark this year, other independent surveys have found it could reach 15 to 20 percentage points.

Earlier this month, Carrió criticized Fernández de Kirchner for avoiding the topic of inflation during a conversation with journalists, saying, "The worst error is not to acknowledge the reality of the inflationary problem."

The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: CEOP
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 2,931Argentine adults, conducted in early October 2007. Margin of error is 1.8 per cent.

Elisa Carrió of the Alliance Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) is second with 14.4 per cent, followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna of An Advanced Nation (UNA) with 13 per cent, Ricardo López Murphy of Recreate (Recrear) with 4.8 per cent, San Luis governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá of the Justicialist Front, Union and Liberty (FREJULI) with 2.4 per cent, and Neuquen governor Jorge Sobisch with 1.2 per cent.

Néstor Kirchner finished second to former president Carlos Menem in the 2003 election. Menem withdrew from the scheduled run-off after voting intention polls suggested an overwhelming victory for Kirchner, candidate of the Front for Victory (FV).

Argentina has held five presidential elections since the demise of an eight-year military dictatorship in 1982. In the event no candidate garners more than 45 per cent of the vote—or reaches a percentage between 40 and 45 per cent with a 10 per cent lead over the closest competitor—a run-off between the two leading candidates must take place.

On Oct. 6, Lavagna criticized the current government’s economic policies, saying, "They have established the ‘Ostrich Plan’, where there’s no inflation, no setbacks with public safety and no energy crisis, while we acknowledge the problems and have a plan to solve them."

Also on Oct. 6, former president Raúl Alfonsín—who governed from 1983 to 1989—said he expects a run-off, saying, "I don’t think Mrs. Cristina will get 45 per cent of the vote.

The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 28.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the next presidential election?

Source: Opinión Pública, Servicios y Mercados (OPSM)
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,100 Argentine adults, conducted in September 2007. No margin of error was provided.