Buenos Aires, Argentina ? Former President Carlos Menem beat Peronist rival Nestor Kirchner in Sunday’s presidential election, but the narrowness of the win meant the two men will face off in the first runoff vote in Argentina’s history.

With 72 percent of the ballot tallied, Menem had 23.9 percent of the vote compared to 21.9 percent for Kirchner, governor of the oil-rich Santa Cruz province. Former economy minister Ricardo Lopez Murphy was third with 16.7 percent and a bevy of other candidates got the rest. A candidate must get 45 percent to win in the first round.

All three candidates sought to shape the bitter contest around their prescriptions for leading South America’s second-largest economy out of its $141 billion debt default and bruising currency devaluation.

“We are going to pull this country out of this real disaster that everyone who came after me left behind,” said the 72-year-old Menem, whose second term ended in 1999 on the eve of the crisis after a decade of economic growth.

Supporters mobbed Menem amid chants of “We feel it, we feel it! Menem will be president!”

The front-runner, his beauty queen wife Cecilia Bolocco at his side, vowed he would win a third term and turn around the economy with his U.S.-backed free trade and free market policies.

Kirchner, speaking in his windswept Patagonian province, painted the looming runoff May 18 as a choice between two starkly different visions for rescuing the economy. Kirchner is to the left of Menem’s policies and talks of defending domestic industry and jobs as being foremost.

“It should be clear there are two economic models here: one that drove Argentina into debt and the one that restores jobs and dignity,” said Kirchner, who blamed Menem for setting up the economy’s downfall.

Argentina has never had a presidential runoff vote. A runoff system was set in place for four president elections in the past 30 years but never required.

The winner is to be sworn in May 25 to a four-year term replacing President Eduardo Duhalde. A caretaker appointed by Congress in January 2002, Duhalde was the last of a revolving door of five presidents in two weeks after the economic chaos and rights of December 2001.

Although he lagged behind, Lopez Murphy said he was gratified with a strong finish in a field of five major candidates. He conceded defeat.

“I’m so pleased because we just built this part eight months ago, and we can still do more,” he said, surrounding by members of his independent Renewal party started last year at the height of the public anger over the crisis.

Lopez Murphy said he would continue to build his party in upcoming congressional and local elections. “We will keep fighting so that we triumph in four years,” he said, suggesting he might run again.

Some 25.7 million voters registered for the election, which was conducted peacefully as soldiers stood guard at many of the 66,735 polling stations nationwide.

It was Argentina’s fifth election since democracy was restored following the end of a military dictatorship in 1983. Voting in Argentina is compulsory.

Many Argentines struggling to survive the nation’s worst economic downturn — more than one of every two people now lives below the poverty line — were distrustful the election would bring significant change.