Argentines went to the ballot boxes last Sunday to elect their president, vice-president, and legislators. Despite being widely expected to prevail in the first round, Daniel Scioli — the candidate for the Peronist ruling party Frente Para la Victoria — failed to cross the necessary threshold. On November 22, he’ll face Mauricio Macri — a businessman and Buenos Aires’s head of government — in the country’s first-ever ballotage.

To avoid a run-off in Argentina, a candidate must either capture more than 45 percent of non-blank votes or garner more than 40 percent and best the runner-up by at least ten points. Surprisingly, given recent polls and the primary results, Scioli received only 37 percent (2 percent less than in the primaries); Macri garnered 34 percent (4 percent more than in the primaries), and the third runner-up, Sergio Massa, got 21 percent (1 percent more than in the primaries).

This is bad news for Kirchnerism (which takes its name from the pair that has ruled the country since 2003). Not only is Macri seen as the victor for forcing a second round, but the ballotage simply delays the impending austerity policies — likely in the face of growing economic crisis in Argentina — that will be pushed once the elections are over.