Alberto Fernandez wins Argentine presidential election
Buenos Aires: Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez won Argentina's presidential election in the first round on Sunday, official results showed, bringing to an end the crisis-plagued rule of market-friendly incumbent Mauricio Macri.
Fernandez, a 60-year-old law professor, had 47.36 percent of the votes -- crossing the threshold for outright victory -- after 75 percent of the votes had been counted, with center-right incumbent Mauricio Macri trailing at 41.22 percent.
To win outright, Fernandez required 45 percent, or 40 percent with a 10 point margin over his nearest rival. His win also caps a remarkable political comeback for his running mate, ex-president Cristina Kirchner, who will be his vice-president. Thousands of ecstatic Fernandez supporters cheered and danced outside his Frente de Todos party headquarters in Buenos Aires.
"It's a great day for Argentina," a smiling Fernandez told reporters after exit polls and his own party's tallies, had given him victory.
Macri, 60, whose popularity has fallen sharply in the last year as Argentina battled recession and market turmoil, said after he voted that competing "visions of the future are at stake" in the vote.
The interior ministry said turnout in Sunday's general election was over 80 percent after a campaign dominated by the crippling economic crisis affecting Latin America's second-biggest economy.
Macri had called for a massive turnout, which analysts saw as his main hope of closing a large opinion poll deficit on Fernandez and forcing a second round.
Fernandez vowed to end sharp divisions between his Peronist movement and supporters of the business-friendly incumbent.
"The days of 'Us' and 'Them' are over," the mustachioed leftist leader said after voting in the swanky Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires. "We are in an enormous crisis. Everyone has to take responsibility for what's ahead." The election comes amid high tensions in the region, with massive protests in neighboring Chile and Bolivia, as well as recent unrest over inequality in Ecuador.
Voter Maria Marta Rosauer, 54, said she would give Macri "another vote of confidence." "I voted with the conviction and the certainty that he did things well and that he could have done better, but he needed time," she said.
"Nobody can put a country on its feet in four years, after how he found it. We opened our doors to the world after many years of being almost forgotten," she said, referring to the years when Argentina was a market pariah following a 2001 default.
There are "two models of government at stake here. Alberto and Cristina represent greater equity," said another voter, Liliana, a 64-year-old architect in the capital. "I'm excited to see the end of a country that only benefits a small group." The populist Kirchner, 66, who is facing trial in one of several graft cases stemming from her time in office, voted in the southern city of Rio Gallegos before flying to Buenos Aires to join celebrations.
Kirchner has long been a polarizing figure who succeeded her husband Nestor Kirchner as president in 2007 and remained in power until 2015.
The return to power of protectionist Peronists comes amid a lengthy recession and a debt crunch, raising market fears of a possible default on a 57 billion IMF loan. The peso fell 5.86 percent in the week before the elections, and the week ended with the dollar at 65 pesos.
"The markets will be negative" in their reaction to a Fernandez triumph on Monday, said Nicolas Saldias, a senior researcher at the Wilson Center.
"It won't be as brutal as in August (after the primary result), but people are taking their money out of the country, out of the banks." "A lot depends on whether he shows his capacity to compromise.
"Macri is the president but Fernandez has the power. There has to be some signal that they are working together." Fernandez has insisted his government would not default but rather seek to renegotiate the terms of the loan, and sought to reassure voters that their bank deposits would be safe under his administration.
Since Fernandez's crushing victory in August primaries, which made him the favorite for the presidency, Argentine savers have withdrawn around 12 billion from their accounts.
Macri blamed Argentina's economic problems on previous Peronist governments under Kirchner (2007-15) and her late husband Nestor Kirchner (2003-07).
The poverty rate has risen to more than 35 percent, inflation for the year to September was at almost 38 percent, while the peso has depreciated 70 percent since January 2018.
Voters were also electing half of the Chamber of Deputies, a third of the Senate, the governor of Buenos Aires province and the capital's mayor.
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India's Gen Z is full of creativity, says PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India's Gen Z is full of creativity and with innovative ideas, energy and purpose, the country's youth is at the forefront of nation-building.
Addressing the concluding session of Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue (VBYLD) here in which he interacted with youngsters from across India and abroad, Modi said this initiative, in a short span of time, has grown into a significant platform where young people actively engage in shaping the nation's direction.
"Every year on January 12, we celebrate the National Youth Day in honour of Swami Vivekananda, whose life and teachings continue to inspire us. Drawing inspiration from him, the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue was established," he said.
Modi said the central government rolled out successive schemes with a clear focus on the youth and the startup revolution truly gathered momentum in India subsequently.
"With innovative ideas, energy and purpose, Yuva Shakti is at the forefront of nation-building," he said.
The prime minister said India is experiencing remarkable growth in the Orange Economy, rooted in culture, content and creativity.
"Over the past decade, the series of reforms we began has now turned into a Reform Express. At the heart of these reforms is our Yuva Shakti," he said.
The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue is a national platform designed to facilitate structured engagement between India's youth and national leadership.
The dialogue, being held from January 9 to 12, has witnessed participation from over 50 lakh youth across the country at various levels.
The young leaders converging at the national-level championship have been selected through a rigorous, merit-based three-stage selection process, comprising a nationwide digital quiz, an essay challenge and state-level vision presentations.
