MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tied election prospect in Buenos Aires.

With less than a week for Sunday September 14 crucial runoff election the two candidates for Mayor of the city of Buenos Aires are technically tied according to the latest poll published in the Argentine press.

Mr. Aníbal Ibarra running for re-election and with the support of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner has a 45,9% vote intention, while industrialist and football businessman Mauricio Macri stands at 44,8% with 2,9% undecided and 6,4% not interested in the contest.

The Ipsos-Mora y Araujo poll indicates that Mr. Ibarra has a 36% positive image and his competitor 33%. However the performance of Mr. Ibarras's administration has only a 29% support, 42% consider it insufficient and 28% plain incompetent.

This means that 70% of Buenos Aires residents do not approve of Mr. Ibarra's administration.

The poll also shows that geographically, and by age and income groups, support for both candidates is evenly distributed although the fact that Mr. Macri is the president of Argentina's most popular and possibly best football team gives him an additional attraction.

As to the image positive-negative balance, Mr. Ibarra comes ahead with 36%, 30% not entirely convinced and 34% negative. Mr. Macri has 33% positive; 17% unconvincing; 47% negative and 3% undecided.

The poll was done September 4/6, involving visiting 600 homes with a 4% plus minus margin error.

Mr. Ibarra a former prosecutor was first elected in 1999 in alliance with former president Fernando De la Rúa who resigned in 2001. Mr. Macri has strong support from the business community and had long been courted to enter politics by former president Carlos Menem.

The Buenos Aires Mayor election has become a vital piece of President Kirchner's strategy and has been described by the Argentine press as the "SuperSunday Bowl", with all the political consequences this could have. Together with First Lady Senator Cristina Fernández they have openly campaigned for Mr. Ibarra attacking Mr. Macri as a representative of "big business" and a Menem "puppet".

Santa Fe

Another crucial election is taking place this Sunday in the rich farmland province of Santa Fe, a ruling Justicialista party stronghold for the last twenty years that is being challenged by the Socialist and popular mayor of Argentina's second city Rosario.

Outgoing Santa Fe governor Carlos Reutemann is running for Senator and his chances for the 2007 Argentine presidency election will be gauged by voters response expected to be above 65%.

President Kirchner is supporting the main Justicialista candidate for governor, current Deputy Jorge Obeid. However he has also sent encouraging signals to Socialist Rosario mayor Hermes Binner who has chances of reaching the Governor's House and defeating the powerful Justicialista party machine.