By Sarah Marsh and Richard Lough
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentineans voted for a new president on Sunday in an election that will shape how the South American country tackles its economic woes, with outgoing leader Cristina Fernandez's candidate the favourite to win on a platform of "gradual change".
Voting was orderly in polling stations in the capital Buenos Aires where children joined their parents in line and there were no reports of logistical problems from the country's jungle north to its windswept Patagonian plains in the south.
Opinion polls show Daniel Scioli of the leftist Front for Victory ruling party with a strong lead over his rivals, although he cannot be sure of an outright win and may be forced into a runoff vote next month.
Fernandez will step down adored by the poor and working class for generous welfare handouts and protectionist policies but reviled by others for strangling the economy with currency controls and other interventionist moves after a commodities-fuelled boom ended.
Argentina's next leader will face near-empty liquid reserves in the central bank, a gaping fiscal deficit and high inflation. Scioli and his main challengers all propose policy changes to put growth on a more sustainable footing, but differ on the pace and depth of reform.
Scioli warns against abrupt changes to Fernandez's leftist populism and vows to stick with her social welfare programs.
His closest rival is Mauricio Macri, the conservative mayor of Buenos Aires, who promises to move fast to open up Latin America's No. 3 economy but is viewed by many as beholden to the rich.
"I want Scioli to win. Macri won't care about the people. He has no idea what it is to be poor," said Carolina Carrizo, 28, from the town of San Justo outside the capital, whose family has lived off benefits since her husband hurt his back.
"I like how the country is doing at the moment and I think Macri will reverse the progress."
To win outright on Sunday, Scioli needs 45 percent of votes, or 40 percent if he has a 10 percentage point lead over his closest challenger. Polls show him hovering near the 40 percent threshold and Macri approaching 30 percent.
Scioli, a former powerboat champion who lost his right arm in a race in 1989, looked relaxed as he queued to vote with his ex-model wife.
"I hope people choose to keep building on what we have already done," Scioli said before casting his vote into a cardboard ballot box.
"FED UP"
Ahead of Sunday's vote, two leading pollsters said that if Scioli won outright by a tiny margin, Macri and third-placed candidate Sergio Massa might opt to wait for an official confirmation of the result before accepting defeat.
That could take up to five days, the electoral authority has said. The count is sure to be closely scrutinized after a disputed regional election in Tucuman province in August, including allegations of ballot burning, led to opposition protests and a judicial review.
"The government takes full responsibility for everything that happens in this election," Macri said before voting. "Argentineans won't accept anything that takes us back to what we went through in Tucuman."
Unofficial results based on exit polls are expected to come out at 9 p.m. local time (8 p.m. EST), with official returns starting two hours later.
The election marks the end of 12 years of "Kirchnerismo" covering the presidencies of Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner. They are credited by supporters with reviving growth, protecting Argentine industry and helping the poor after a massive economic crisis in 2001-02.
Scioli owes much of his support to Fernandez loyalists. Wary of alienating Fernandez's supporters, he rejects fiscal austerity and a shock devaluation and says monetary reform should be slow to avoid hurting the poor. Privately, his close advisers sell a more investor-friendly message.
Macri and third-placed centrist Sergio Massa both promise to start work quickly on dismantling trade and currency controls, and to improve the accuracy of government economic data that experts say is often fudged. They also promise to tackle rising crime levels.
"I'm fed up with the insecurity and of the government giving handouts to delinquents who don't work," said saleswoman Florencia Corbalen, echoing a common refrain among the middle-class that Fernandez's welfare benefits have been too generous.
All three main candidates have tip-toed around the subject of negotiations with U.S. creditors whose legal battle over unpaid debt tipped Argentina back into default last year. But each team says their candidate wants a deal that does not sell Argentina short.
Voters are also electing some regional governors, half of the lower house of Congress and a third of the Senate.
(Additional reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi, Juliana Castilla and Maximiliano Rizzi; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Kieran Murray and Christian Plumb)