Argentina begins midterm parliamentary elections.
Polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. on October 27 (6:00 p.m. Hanoi time) to welcome more than 30 million Argentinian voters in the midterm parliamentary elections for President Cristina Fernández's second term, which will replace half of the 257 seats in the Lower House and one-third of the 72 seats in the Senate of this South American nation.
According to analysts, the results of this election will not differ much from the August 11 primary election to screen candidates for parliament, whereby the ruling Front for Victory (FpV) and its allies will continue to hold a majority in both houses, although they will not win the most votes in the most populous regions, including Buenos Aires province, which accounts for nearly 40% of the country's voters.
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| Mr. S. Massa (left) and Mr. M. Insaurralde lead the list of candidates for the House of Representatives from the opposition Renewal Front and FpV in Buenos Aires, Argentina's most populous province. (Photo: Telam) |
President Cristina was unable to vote due to recovering from surgery on October 8th. Her inability to seek re-election for a third term in 2015, as stipulated by the Constitution, meant that this election would not only determine the structure of parliament during her final two years in office, but also serve as a springboard for several politicians from both the government and opposition to run for the Pink House (Presidential Palace).
More than 90,000 police and soldiers were deployed to ensure the election took place in an orderly manner.
In Argentina, voting is compulsory. Voters are fined if they fail to vote without a valid reason.
Voting will end at 6 PM. The "irreversible" results of the election are expected to be announced later that night (noon, October 28th, Hanoi time).
According to (Vietnam+)
