Mr Nestor Kirchner clinched Argentina's presidency last night after rival Mr Carlos Menem, quit four days before a runoff election after trailing last in polls.
Ex-president Mr Menem's withdrawal, which seems likely to mark the end of his scandal-ridden political career, propelled the relatively unknown center-left Mr Kirchner into the job of leading Argentina after nearly two years of turmoil.
Under Argentine law, a runoff election is cancelled if one of the two candidates withdraws. Mr Kirchner, who led Mr Menem by some 40 points in polls, can now be proclaimed Argentina's sixth president in 18 months. The electoral court approved Mr Menem's withdrawal.
Giving a television interview in his first public appearance since Mr Menem's withdrawal, Mr Kirchner vowed to tackle deep poverty racking Argentina, make politics more transparent and provide strong leadership and governability.
"I am going to fight for Argentina . . . we will combat poverty hard," he said, adding he hoped to emulate the likes of former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez and ex-US President Bill Clinton.
Mr Menem earlier justified backing out by saying the conditions were not right for him to take part in the runoff. "Kirchner can stick with his 22 per cent and I'll stick with the Argentine people," he said.
Mr Kirchner faces a task of leading Argentina, a nation of 36 million people who last year suffered an economic crash worse than the 1930s depression in the United States.