(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Cristina Fernández de Kirchner remains the frontrunner before this month’s presidential election in Argentina, according to a poll by OPSM. 46.1 per cent of respondents in the South American nation would vote the current first lady.

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.

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