The primary election is one of the most important aspects when it comes to political transitions in Argentina. Presidential candidates belonging to all political parties participate in the election and this time the predictions initially indicated a win for Mauricio Merci which did not turn out to be correct as the final results showed.
The austerity measures of Merci could have been responsible for his setback in the election and his loss. Mr. Fernández has left Merci behind by a substantial margin and is all set to assume the offices as the results are approved. Argentine politics would experience a change in power shortly.
The functioning of the Primaries in Argentina
The system of primaries got initiated in 2009. To settle for the most popular president, this system was introduced. Under this setup, anyone who is eligible for casting vote for the presidential election can cast their ballot to choose the candidate of their choice. The power to select does not remain limited to the party members only. Participating in the election and casting the vote is a compulsory act.
The Results
Argentina was experiencing a long term recession and last year the local currency, Peso, lost more than half of its value against the dollar. To fight this grave situation, President Merci launched the austerity measures and the inflation went down significantly as a result. However, the downfall of the inflation has somehow missed the credits to Merci and the people’s choice moved in a devious way. As a reflection, Merci managed to secure 32.1% of the votes whereas Mr. Fernández bagged a considerable volume of 47.7% of all the votes counted.
The Importance
With such clear margins, Mr. Fernández is sure to win the vote outright. According to the electoral rules in Argentina, a candidate winning 45% of the total votes or 40 % votes with 10 % lead points wins the contest outright. The need for conducting the second round of vote stands completely nullified. If the same trend continues, Mr. Fernández will win the 27th October election outright and the second round of elections on 24th November will not hold.
The reaction of the people of Argentina
Mr. Fernández, a sixty years old lawyer, seemed quite confident as the results came out. He proclaimed the result to be indicative of a new beginning for Argentina. He also boasted that a new story will be written for the country leaving all the dark pages behind.
The Argentine market surely went under a sudden shock as the change of political direction became inevitable after the results were out. As a consequence, the Peso drooped 25% against the dollar and the Merval stock index dropped by 10%. The Latin American Economist, Edward Glossop further intensified the market reactions saying that the new government will do away with all the stops to secure the people’s support.
Related: Argentina’s Senate Narrowly Rejects Bill Which Would Legalize Abortion
