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Argentine Incumbent Concedes Defeat in Presidential Vote

Associated Press

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - Conservative President Mauricio Macri
   conceded defeat in Argentina's election Sunday night, paving the way
   for the country's Peronist center-left to return to power under Alberto
   Fernandez as frustrated voters rejected the incumbent's handling of a
   bruising economic crisis that has sunk many into poverty.

   The result would mark a dramatic return to high office of former
   President Cristina Fernandez, Alberto Fernandez's vice presidential
   running mate, former boss and what critics say might be the power
   behind his throne.

   Macri told supports at his headquarters that he had called Alberto
   Fernandez to congratulate him and invited him for a breakfast chat
   Monday at the Pink Presidential Palace.

   "We need an orderly transition that will bring tranquility to all
   Argentines, because the most important thing is the well-being of all
   Argentines,'' Macri said.

   Authorities said Fernandez has 47.83% of the votes compared to 40.66%
   for Macri, with 91.21% percent of the votes counted. He needs 45%
   support, or 40% support with a 10 percentage point lead, over the
   nearest rival to avoid a runoff vote on Nov. 24.

   Macri was elected president in 2015 promising to jumpstart the
   country's economy. Argentines rejected at the time a successor chosen
   by ex-president Fernandez, who along with her late husband dominated
   Argentina's political scene for 12 years and rewrote its social
   contract. But the divisive former leader, who embodies Argentina's
   enduring cycle of hope and despair, appears back.

   Thousands of the two Fernandezes supporters crowded outside their
   campaign headquarters in a jubilant celebration waving sky-blue and
   white Argentine flags.

   "I'm so happy. We were waiting for this change for a long time. We're
   tired of everything that has been happening,'' said supporter Juan Jose
   De Antonio, 46. "Some of us live a different reality from those
   suffering hunger, but when you have a friend who lost a job, a neighbor
   who can't make ends meet, it hits you."

   Alberto Fernandez greeted sympathizers who gathered outside the gate of
   his apartment chanting: "Alberto presidente!"

   Sunday's largely peaceful election was dominated by concerns over
   rising poverty, a sharp depreciation of the currency and one of the
   world's highest inflation rates. Voters appear to have rejected
   austerity measures that Macri insisted were needed to revive
   Argentina's struggling economy. Many Argentines have taken to the
   streets frustrated with cuts to rises in fuel and transportation costs.

   The result would mark a triumphant comeback for Cristina Fernandez and
   a shift leftward for South America, which has seen conservative
   governments elected in Brazil, Colombia and Chile in recent years. She
   was considered part of the "pink tide"of leftist governments that arose
   in the region in the 1990s and 2000s.

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