Argentina's economy moving forwardPolls are expected to open early SundayCristina Fernandez de Kirchner is the undisputed front-runnerShe needs 45% of the vote, or at least 40% and a 10-point lead, to win outright
Buenos Aires (CNN) -- Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is expected to win re-election in a landslide on Sunday.
Opinion polls say the current leader is likely to win outright with more than 50% of the vote. She needs 45%, or at least 40% and a 10-point lead, over her nearest rival to avoid a runoff.
Among her closest competitors are Hermes Binner, Ricardo Alfonsin and Eduardo Duhalde.
Binner, a Socialist governor from Santa Fe, has gained in polls since a primary election in August, but still trails Fernandez by more than 35 points.
The current president, a center-left member of the Peronist party, handily won the primary. Fernandez garnered more than half the country's votes, making her the undisputed front-runner going into Sunday's election.
Alfonsin is a member of the opposition Radical Party and the son of the late Raul Alfonsin, who became Argentina's president in 1983 following seven years of military dictatorship.
Duhalde is a long-time Peronist party leader who ruled Argentina from 2002 to 2003 in the wake of the country's $95 billion debt default, which ushered in historically high levels of crime, unemployment and poverty.
He was succeeded in May 2003 by Nestor Kirchner, a relatively unknown governor from Patagonia who championed human rights causes and implemented unorthodox financial policies that many credit with helping to bring the Argentine economy back from the brink.
In 2007, Kirchner stepped aside so his wife, Fernandez, could run. She was elected with 45% of the vote, becoming Argentina's first elected female president.
Under Fernandez's leadership, Argentina's economy has enjoyed sustained growth of about 8% annually. The president points to this expansion and a low debt load as examples of how Argentina is well-positioned to weather the uncertainty in the current global markets.
In an August speech, the president said strong economic growth and human rights advances are key to her past and future mandates.
"Strength Argentina! Forward Argentina! We will continue growing, with social inclusion, with justice, memory and truth," she said.
However, her critics contend the economy is only booming because of high commodity prices and have repeatedly accused her government of tampering with economic statistics. Argentina's official annual inflation rate is around 9%, but most analysts and consumers suspect it is really three times that number.
Kirchner died suddenly from a heart attack in October 2010, and Fernandez has benefited politically from an outpouring of sympathy. Over the past year, she has worn only black in public, and repeatedly refers to "him" in fiery -- and sometimes teary -- campaign speeches.
Voting is obligatory in Argentina and some 28 million people are eligible to vote in Sunday's election.
If re-elected for another four years, Fernandez, 58, has said her second presidential term will be dedicated to her late husband's memory.
If she does not win Sunday's election outright, she will face a runoff vote on November 20.
CNN's Brian Byrnes contributed to this report.
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