2023-10-23 04:46:25
Only 74% of voters eligible to vote participated in the elections; lowest number had been recorded in 2007
EFE/ Enrique García Medina A jury confirms the identity of a voter for today’s presidential elections, in Buenos Aires, Argentina
The first round of elections in Argentina, held this Sunday, the 22nd, saw 74% of voters eligible to vote turn out at the polls, which represents five percentage points more than that recorded in the August primaries, according to official sources. The general secretary of the Presidency, Julio Vitobello, made a statement after the closing time of the polling stations (6pm in Buenos Aires and Brasília) in which he informed that there were still voters in queues, and therefore the percentage could increase. The primaries, known as PASO (concurrent mandatory primaries), and held on August 13, concluded with a 69% turnout.
In the absence of a concrete result on whether or not voter turnout would increase, at the time of Vitobello’s statement the percentage was the lowest in a general election – both in the first and second rounds – since the country’s return to democracy. Until now, the lowest number had been recorded in 2007, when 76.20% of voters went to the polls in the first round, in which Cristina Kirchner was elected president for the first time. The highest turnout was in 1983, in the first elections after the military dictatorship (1976-1983), when 85.61% went to the polls – the winner was Raúl Alfonsín.
Around 35.4 million Argentines were called today to elect president and vice president, in addition to renewing 130 of the 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 24 of the 72 in the Senate, in addition to appointing 43 Argentine representatives to the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur, an organization legislative bloc formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). Argentina will have a second round between the Economy Minister, Sergio Massafrom the União pela Pátria coalition, and the far-right candidate, Javier Miley, from the Freedom Advances party. The result was already indicated in the polls, however, what was surprising was the placement of Massa, who defeated the election favorite. The second round is scheduled for November 19
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