To the elections presidential in Argentine They are a fundamental part of the country's electoral system, as they define who will be the country's president for a period of four years. The presidential term in Argentina lasts four years, allowing the possibility of re-election for a second four-year term.
In the Argentine electoral system, all citizens between 18 and 70 years old are obliged to vote. The presidential election in Argentina operates in three stages, being the primaries, then the first round and the second round. In the first round, the candidate with more than 45% of the votes is elected, making a second round unnecessary.
Read too: Particularities and how the Brazilian electoral system works
Topics in this article
- 1 - Summary of the elections
- 2 - How do elections work in Argentina?
- 3 - Who can vote in Argentina?
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4 - Elections in Argentina in 2023
- Candidates for elections in Argentina
- 5 - Current President of Argentina
- 6 - History of elections in Argentina
Election summary
The presidential elections in Argentine are held every four years.
Argentine presidents have a four-year term and can be re-elected once.
All citizens over the age of 16 can vote in Argentina, but voting is mandatory for those between 18 and 70 years of age.
Elections in Argentina take place in three phases: primaries, first round and second round.
The candidate who obtains more than 45% of the votes is elected in the first round.
How do elections work in Argentina?
The presidential elections in Argentina are carried out every four years and are organized in accordance with the principles established by the National Constitution, promulgated in 1853, and by the electoral laws that were established after the constitutional reform that was carried out in the country in 1994.
The presidential term in Argentina lasts four years, and therefore elections are held every four years. O President-elect has the right to run for officeThe re-election to have a second four-year term and after that he is obliged to give up power so that another politician can be elected to the role.
The Argentine presidential election is organized into three phases:
primaries;
first round;
second round.
As the elections approach, parties need to register pre-candidates interested in running for president. Before the first round takes placecer, the Argentine electoral systemO determines that the primaries take place, calls in Argentina from Paso —primary, open, simultaneous and mandatory.
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The Paso have two very important objectives in the presidential election. First, they resolve disputes that occur within political parties over who will be the candidate who will represent the party. Therefore, if a party has three pre-candidates in Paso, for example, only the one with the most votes will continue in the dispute that will take place in the first round.
Another objective of the Paso is to determine the candidates who will be qualified to compete in the first round, eliminating the pre-candidates from the same party who received fewer votes, but also eliminating candidates who have votes irrelevant. Therefore, the Paso establish that a pre-candidate can only participate in the first round if he obtains at least 1.5% of the votes.
The Argentine population is obliged to participate in the Paso, and once the candidates are determined, the first round is held. The electoral system establishes that the candidate who obtains more than 45% of the votes or more than 40%, as long as he has an advantage greater than 10% over the second placed candidate, is elected president.
If this does not happen, a second round is held, in which the candidate with the most votes is announced as the winner. This electoral system with primaries being held before the first round was approved in 2009 and used for the first time in 2011.
Read too: Cristina Kirchner — the biography of one of Argentina's best-known politicians
Who can vote in Argentina?
In the Argentine electoral system, Every born Argentine can vote from the age of 16 and naturalized Argentines can vote from the age of 18. In the case of native Argentines, the right to vote is mandatory, that is, all citizens between 18 and 70 years of age are obliged to vote. Those under 18 and over 70 are not required to vote.
Elections in Argentina in 2023
The year 2023 was marked in Argentina as an election year, since President Alberto Fernández's term ends on December 10, 2023. The highlight of this dispute is the fact that the Argentine president decided not to run for presidential re-election.
Candidates for elections in Argentina
On August 13, 2023, the Argentine primaries were held, and they, in addition to defining the candidates for the first round, also brought a surprising result. Through the primaries, it was determined that five candidates will advance to the dispute in the first round, on October 22, 2023.
You five candidates are as follows:
Javier Milei (far right);
Patricia Bullrich (center right);
Sergio Massa (center-left);
Juan Schiaretti (center-right);
Myriam Bregman (left).
A The big surprise of the primaries was the expressive vote that Javier Milei, far-right candidate, received. This is because he was not seen as one of the favorite candidates and is viewed with attention due to his radical proposals. Among the proposals and some ideas he was in favor of were:
dollarization of the Argentine economy;
privatization of all Argentine state-owned companies;
liberalization of arms sales;
authorization of the sale of human organs;
end of Argentina's trade relations with China;
end of the Argentine Central Bank.
Read too: What is the difference between left and right?
Current President of Argentina
O current Argentine president is Alberto Fernández, known for having a strong connection with Kirchnerism, a political aspect that is understood by many as an heir to Peronism in the country. Fernández was elected alongside Cristina Kirchner for a four-year term and had promises to solve the economic problems that were plaguing the country.
Alberto Fernández's government, however, failed in economic policy and saw the country's indexes in this aspect drop significantly. The failure of Fernández's economic project caused poverty in Argentina to increase significantly, as did inflation. The Argentine president said that this situation was caused by the pandemic, the War between Russia and Ukraine and a severe drought that hit the country.
History of elections in Argentina
Argentina's current electoral system gained strength with the country's redemocratization and the end of the military dictatorship that took place there between 1973 and 1983. Since then, regular presidential elections have been held in the country, which elected the following presidents:
1983: Raúl Alfonsín.
1989: Carlos Menem.
1995: Carlos Menem.
1999: Fernando de la Rúa.
2003: Néstor Kirchner.
2007: Cristina Kirchner.
2011: Cristina Kirchner.
2015: Mauricio Macri.
2019: Alberto Fernández.
Image credits:
[1] Patoouu Duck / Shutterstock
Sources:
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G1. What are the Paso, the Argentine primaries. Available in: https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2023/08/14/o-que-sao-as-paso-as-primarias-argentinas.ghtml.
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GUTIERREZ, Felipe. Elections in Argentina: despite Milei's victory in the primaries, the race is very open, analysts say. Available in: https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2023/08/15/eleicoes-na-argentina-apesar-de-vitoria-de-milei-nas-previas-disputa-esta-bastante-aberta-dizem-analistas.ghtml.
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Daniel Neves. "Presidential elections in Argentina"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/politica/eleicoes-presidenciais-na-argentina.htm. Accessed on November 22, 2023.
