Argentina's Election Was A Tie, ReRun In November

The ruling party's presidential candidate promised continuity with some changes. The leading opposition candidate promised changes with some continuity.

Argentine voters seemed to call that a draw in Sunday's election, giving the two men a neck-and-neck finish and forcing a runoff in their bid to succeed President Cristina Fernandez, a polarizing leader who garnered both devotion and loathing as she spent heavily on the poor and blasted political opponents and even other nations like the United States.

With 80 percent of polling places reporting early Monday, opposition candidate Mauricio Macri and ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli each had 35 percent of the votes. Sergio Massa, a former Fernandez loyalist who broke away to form his own political movement, was third in the six-candidate field with 21 percent.

The unexpected tight finish means Macri and Scioli will square off in a Nov. 22 runoff. To win the first round, a candidate had needed 45 percent of the votes or 40 percent and a 10-point advantage over the nearest competitor.

Scioli, the governor of the Buenos Aires province, had been viewed as an easy front-runner thanks to the support of Fernandez, who won admirers for rewriting Argentina's social contract but also drew sharp criticism for widespread allegations of corruption and numerous economic ills, like high inflation.

Numerous polls had predicted Scioli would win by more than 10 points, indicating the only question was whether he could gain enough votes to avoid a runoff.

The strong showing by Macri, the mayor of Buenos Aires, underscored that many voters are ready for change after 12 years of Kirchnerismo, the political movement founded by Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor as president, Nestor Kirchner.

"What happened today changes the politics of this country," Macri told supporters late Sunday.

-ABC News Reports.