Advantage Macri? New poll predicts victory for president in run-off

Argentina's presidential election this October remains up for grabs, but there was good news for President Mauricio Macri this week when a new poll predicted he would triumph over his rivals in a second-round run-off vote.

According to the new survey, carried out by pollsters Elypsis and published Tuesday, the Cambiemos leader would defeat the so-called 'Fernández-Fernández' ticket (made up of Alberto Fernández and his vice-presidential running-mate Cristina Fernández de Kirchner) by a full five percentage points in a head-to-head battle, should the election be held today.

The news is a welcome boost for the president, who would be pushed over the line by previously undecided voters leaning toward his candidacy, according to the polling firm.

In Elypsis' report, the percentage of respondents identifying themselves as unsure who they would vote for fell from 18 percent to 13 percent, perhaps as a a consequence of the Kirchnerite line-up being defined. The president's favourability index also improved to 36 percent from 28 percent in May.

The survey, conducted between May 27 and June 2, questioned close to 3,000 people by telephone interview. It has a margin of error of approximately three-percent.

A second survey, conducted by Synopsis, predicted this week that Macri would win in the second round by 1.4 points. That poll, however, projects the likely decisions of undecided voters in an attempt to improve its accuracy. Excluding that addition, voting intentions were 46.5 percent for Kirchnerite ticket versus 46.1 percent for Macrismo, with 7.4 percent undecided.

- Bloomberg/Times