Argentines are heading to the polls to elect their next president after 12 years of being under the leadership of Nestor Kirchner and then his widow Cristina Kirchner. The South American country’s 32 million voters, who are required to cast ballots on Sunday, are also electing their representatives in Congress and regional bloc Mercosur. Eleven of the country’s 23 provinces are also electing governors and other officials.

Cristina Kirchner is not able to run again but has picked a successor, Buenos Aires provincial Governor Daniel Scioli, who is a member of the ruling party. On Sunday as she cast her ballot, Kirchner said: “It’s a very special day for me because I am voting in a normal country. In the past we have seen handovers that were in crises, with protests on the streets, and now we are in a normal country”.

Scioli is challenged by Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri and congressman Sergio Massa. In a wealthy part of Buenos Aires, people came out early to cast their ballots. “This is our chance to get rid of this government. Argentina is an outcast of the world because of their policies”, voter Constanza Acosta told Al Jazeera. But in working class neighbourhoods, the feeling was completely different.

“We are voting for Scioli, for continuation of what Cristina Kirchner has done for us”, Victor Gonzalez told Al Jazeera. Scioli has vowed to uphold the core elements of “Kirchnerism,” a populist creed built around trade protectionism, social welfare and defence of the working classes.  But the 58-year-old has also vowed a change in style to attract more investment and increase productivity, and has assembled an economic team of free-marketeers.