Argentine president casts his ballot in legislative primary elections

Record ID: 1636334

  • Title: Argentine president casts his ballot in legislative primary elections
  • Date: 12th September 2021
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 12, 2021) (REUTERS) RODRIGUEZ LARRETA APPROACHING JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BUENOS AIRES CHIEF OF GOVERNMENT, HORACIO RODRIGUEZ LARRETA, SAYING: "Everything is working well in the city, but particular situations might occur. People should go out and vote calmly, it's a nice day. You have seen a lot of people have arrived. We just saw how a person with a disability received helped and had the ballot box lowered. We have all the conditions to have a good election day." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE QUEUING TO VOTE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 75 YEAR-OLD-VOTER, ALBERTO EDUARDO, SAYING: "My hopes are that this historical chaos, never been before seen, full of the greatest corruption my whole family and I have lived will come to an end. The brazenness they have for corruption and well, (I voted) to see if I can do something about it." PEOPLE QUEUING TO VOTE VARIOUS OF ARGENTINE NATIONAL CONGRESS
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2021 16:49
  • Keywords: Alberto Fernandez Horacio Rodriguez Larreta midterm elections polls
  • Location: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA / INTERNET
  • City: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA / INTERNET
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA005EUEWQIV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Argentine President Alberto Fernandez voted on Sunday (September 12) in midterm primaries that represent a litmus test for his center-left Peronist government as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising poverty have weakened its popularity.
    Voting stations around the South American nation opened at 8 a.m. (1100 GMT) and will close at 6 p.m., with exit polls before official results start to come around 11 p.m. Pollsters expect the ruling party to suffer some losses.
    With most candidates already set, the vote is in effect a huge straw poll ahead of the Nov. 14 midterm ballot, where 127 seats in the lower Chamber of Deputies are up for grabs out of a total of 257, as well as 24 seats out of 72 in the Senate.
    "It's a nice day because we strengthen democracy in Argentina every time we vote," Fernandez said.
    Chief of Government of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, told journalists the city had all the conditions "to have a good election day".
    Pre-election polls show a threat to the ruling party's majority in the Senate and its hold over the largest bloc in the lower house, where it has a slim lead of some five seats over the main opposition party.
    Many voters feel let down by the main political parties. A lengthy recession, rampant inflation and a poverty rate that has risen to 42% have hurt public support for the government, despite recent signs of an economic recovery and falling coronavirus cases.
    (Production: Horacio Soria, Miguel Lo Bianco, Claudia Martini, Juan Bustamante, Nina Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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