Buenos Aires heads to polls for mayoral election

Buenos Aires began heading to the polls Sunday to vote for a new mayor, with the country's right hoping to retain its stronghold ahead of October's presidential election.

Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, of the right-leaning PRO party, was leading polls heading into the election.

The candidate is backed by current Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri, who is running for president.

Macri said Tuesday it was not likely Rodriguez Larreta would reach the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff.

Surveys indicate that moderate-right ECO coalition candidate Martin Lousteau could likely face off with Rodriguez Larreta in a possible second-round of voting, set for July 19.

Lousteau, an economist, is President Cristina Kirchner's former economy minister.

Mariano Recalde, president of Aerolineas Argentinas, who is favored by President Cristina Kirchner, was third in recent opinion polls.

Kirchner was elected in 2011 for a second term as president and under the constitution is not permitted to run for a third term when elections are held later this year.

Santiago Videla, director of the SV Investigacion consulting firm, downplayed the impact Sunday's election on October's presidential race.

"I think there is not a direct link between the result in the capital and the presidential elections," he said.

Fabian Perechodnik, director of the Poliarquia consulting firm, cited Macri's high approval ratings as a source of his candidate's success in the polls.

"The high level of support for Rodriguez Larreta is very much related to Macri's management," he said.

Polls, which opened at 1100 GMT and close at 2100 GMT, will see the mayor, a deputy mayor and 30 municipal legislators elected.

Two other provinces -- central Cordoba and northwestern La Rioja -- will elect a governor Sunday, while south-central La Pampa holds primaries and northeastern Corrientes will vote for provincial legislators.