ARGENTINA’S Alberto Fernandez and Cristina de Kirchner defeated right-wing leader Mauricio Macri in the elections, it was announced on Sunday evening. 

The pair needed 45 per cent of the votes in order to avoid a second round of elections, a threshold they smashed through by the time 90 per cent of votes had been counted. 

Mr Fernandez’s presidential win and his partner Ms de Kirchner’s role of vice-president puts the left back into national power in the country. 

With a turnout of more than 80 per cent, the ballot offered Argentinians a choice between Mr Macri’s austerity politics or a “social contract” with Mr Fernandez.

Mr Fernandez is thought to have attracted voters who have been affected by Mr Macri’s rule which has led to the most severe economic crisis in the country in decades. 

After casting his vote, Mr Fernandez said: “The days of ‘us’ and ‘them’ are over. We are in an enormous crisis. 

“Everyone has to take responsibility for what’s ahead.”

His supporters flocked to the party headquarters in Buenos Aires to celebrate his win, even before all votes were counted.

Argentina’s poverty rate has risen to more than 35 per cent, while the currency peso suffered a 70 per cent drop in value since January 2018, however it showed a 0.02 per cent rise since the announcement of the election result.

An hour after his presidential win, Mr Fernandez paid tribute to Evo Morales for his election victory in neighbouring Bolivia, and called for Brazil’s left-wing figure Luiz Inacio “Lula” Da Silva to be freed from prison.

Lula, who governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010, had been “unfairly” jailed, Mr Fernandez said. 

He is currently serving a nine-year sentence for alleged corruption and money-laundering after refusing home imprisonment.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said he “would not congratulate” the Argentinian president-elect, but would wait and see “what he would do in office” before potentially turning against him. 

Mr Bolsonaro, who has been an outspoken critic of Mr Fernandez during the election campaign, has previously warned that Brazil could leave the Mercosur trade bloc if Argentina’s politics turn leftwards following the election. 

The bloc is vital for Argentina’s economy, and the threat of such an embargo means the country could suffer a huge financial blow.