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Elections around the world have plenty at stake for voters

By The Associated Press
Published: October 25, 2015, 9:26pm

Elections were being held in nine countries around the world on Sunday. Here’s a look at what’s at stake:

ARGENTINA: Argentines were weighing continuity versus a financial overhaul as they voted for the successor to President Cristina Fernandez, a polarizing leader who dominated national politics for 12 years. Her chosen successor, Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province and a former vice president, is the front-runner, according to polls published last week. Polls closed without any reported disturbances.

COLOMBIA: A bicycle-riding economist regained Colombia’s second-most-important post, mayor of the capital, Bogota. Several governorships were also decided in Sunday’s voting.

GUATEMALA: Comedian Jimmy Morales, a political neophyte, is expected to win the presidential runoff in a country where mass anti-corruption protests and newly aggressive prosecutors drove the last elected president and vice president from office.

HAITI: With more than 50 presidential candidates and no clear front-runner, a December runoff seems inevitable in the impoverished Caribbean nation. Results are expected in a month.

IVORY COAST: Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to prevail over a divided opposition and perhaps secure enough votes to avoid a runoff in the first presidential election since a disputed vote five years ago triggered violence that killed more than 3,000 people. Official results expected within five days.

POLAND: The populist right-wing Law and Justice Party, which opposes adopting the euro currency and is anti-migrant, wins Poland’s parliamentary election. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz concedes defeat after an exit poll showed her centrist, pro-European Union Civic Platform party facing a decisive defeat. An Ipsos exit poll shows Law and Justice receiving 39 percent of the vote, and for the first time in Poland’s post-communist history, no left-wing parties appear to have won enough votes to enter Parliament. Official results are expected Monday.

REPUBLIC OF CONGO: A constitutional referendum is being held to decide if the country’s longtime president is eligible for a new term. Under current laws, 71-year-old President Denis Sassou N’Guesso is barred from seeking re-election when his second term expires next year. The referendum asks voters to change the constitution to scrap a two-term limit and 70-year-old age limit for candidates. Results could come by Friday.

TANZANIA: Tanzanians turn out in large numbers to vote in general elections in which the ruling party, in power for decades, faces a strong challenge from a united opposition. The ruling party candidate, John Magufuli, is battling a former prime minister, Edward Lowassa, who defected to the opposition earlier this year, in a presidential race many analysts say is too close to predict. Results are expected within three to four days.

UKRAINE: Elections for local councils and mayors are seen as a test of strength for President Petro Poroshenko’s government and the oligarchs accustomed to running regions of the country. Voting is not taking place in parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed rebels, and was scrapped at the last minute in Mariupol, a major port and steel city that rebels have been trying to capture for over a year. Preliminary results are expected Monday.

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