At stake in the 2011 elections were 130 of the 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 24 of the 72 seats in the Senate. Parliamentary elections were held in parallel with presidential polls.
The previous elections held in June 2009 were the first to be held under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the country's first elected woman President and wife of former President Néstor Kirchner. Following the elections, the Victory Front (FV), which supported the President, lost control of both chambers. It held 87 of the 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 of the 72 seats in the Senate. The Radical Civic Union (UCR) and Federal Peronists, led by former President Eduardo Duhalde, held 43 and 29 seats respectively in the Chamber of Deputies. Other seats in both chambers went to small parties.
President Fernández de Kirchner pursued her husband's economic policy, which had pulled Argentina out of an economic crisis. Despite double-digit inflation, the country's economy remained strong (8 per-cent growth expected in 2011) and the unemployment rate was at a 20-year low (7.3 per cent in the second quarter).
In October 2010, former President Néstor Kirchner died of a heart attack, prompting a wave of sympathy for the incumbent President.
The media focused on the presidential elections, pushing the parliamentary elections to the back burner. The incumbent President's major challengers included Senator Ricardo Alfonsín (UCR), who led the Union for Social Development (UDESO) and Mr. Hermes Binner, former Governor of Santa Fe. The latter, who had become the first Socialist governor in Argentina in 2007, led the Broad Progressive Front (FAP, which comprised the Socialist Party).
President Fernández de Kirchner's FV ran on the government's record, underscoring the country's strong economic growth. The President pledged to work for greater social inclusion and justice. The FAP promised to give priority to providing all citizens with the necessary education throughout their life. UDESO promised to promote regional economies, strengthen federalism and provide a better education system.
The incumbent President, who, under the current Constitution, is barred from seeking a new term in the next presidential elections due in 2015, stated that she would not amend the Constitution in order to seek a new term. However, she hinted at possible constitutional reforms aimed at introducing a parliamentary system. Mr. Binner (FAP) argued that a parliamentary system was far more democratic and less risky than a presidential one. Civic Coalition presidential candidate Elisa Carrió opposed the idea of a parliamentary system, which, in her view, was aimed at securing the indefinite re-election of the incumbent President.
In all, 78.89 per cent of 28.9 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The FV and its allies won 85 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, followed by the UCR and the FAP, which took 15 and 14 seats respectively. The FV and its allies regained control of both chambers, holding 134 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 41 in the Senate. The UCR took 41 Chamber seats and 17 Senate seats while the FAP won 28 seats in the Chamber and four in the Senate.
In the presidential elections, Ms. Fernández de Kirchner (FV) was re-elected in the first round, winning nearly 54 per cent of the votes. Her closest rival, Mr. Binner, took 17 per cent of the votes.
On 10 December, the newly elected members took up their seats in Congress. The Chamber of Deputies elected Mr. Julián Andrés Domínguez (FV) as its new Speaker while the new Vice-President of the country, Mr. Amado Boudou, became the President of the Senate as stipulated by the Constitution. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
