Argentina's ruling party Victory Front's presidential candidate Daniel Scioli (R) takes part in a press conference, accompanied by his vice presidential candidate Carlos Zanini, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Oct. 26, 2015. Argentina's two leading presidential candidates entered the second round of the presidential election on late Sunday, sharing 73.84 percent of the votes counted. Conservative opposition candidate Mauricio Macri had a slight lead over ruling Victory Front candidate Daniel Scioli, with 35.79 percent of the votes versus 35.11 percent, respectively. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)
BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's ruling party presidential candidate Daniel Scioli demonstrated his confidence on Monday by inviting his rival to a debate in the lead up to a Nov. 22 runoff.
Scioli, of the left-of-center Victory Front party, and his opponent Mauricio Macri, of the conservative Cambiemos party, were the front-runners in Sunday's first round presidential race, garnering 36.86 percent and 34.33 percent of votes, respectively.
"I had already told Macri that if there was a runoff, it was important to hold a debate," Scioli said at a press conference in the capital Buenos Aires.
The debate will take place Nov. 15, state news agency Telam announced.
Scioli had declined to take part in a debate among the other five presidential candidates prior to Sunday's poll.
But the unexpectedly close outcome of the first round, which came as a surprise, called for a decisive measure.
Scioli had a commanding eight-point lead over second-placed Macri, following primaries that narrowed the field of candidates to six, and was hoping to parlay that into an outright majority win Sunday.
Macri and his camp, meanwhile, hailed the results as a victory for the opposition, and moved to win over the more than 20 percent of middle-of-the-road voters who cast their ballot for the United for a New Alternative (UNA) party, whose candidate came in third.
"I feel they think like we do," Macri said of UNA voters, as he called for their backing at a press conference Monday. "They also voted for change."
He also indicated he would court the supporters of the other three parties, including two left-wing organizations, which between them garnered about 7.5 percent of the votes, regardless of ideology.
"Those who voted with change in mind, we are going to represent them," said Macri.
"I'm still as optimistic as ever, because there is no two without three," said Scioli, citing a traditional maxim. "We won the primaries, we won yesterday and we are going to win on Nov. 22."
To win the first round, a candidate had to secure 45 percent of the votes, or 40 percent with a 10-point advantage over the next closest rival.
