Argentine opposition accepts postponing of legislative elections due to the pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The coalition of ‘Juntos por el Cambio (JxC)’, the main opposition force in Argentina and a bloc to which former president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) belongs, accepted on Thursday, April 22, the Government’s proposal to postpone the electoral schedule by one month, due to the delicate health situation the country is going through.

“From JxC, we reaffirm our interest in contributing to the best management of the pandemic and, at the same time, respect the electoral rules in force (…). That is why we will accompany the correction of the schedule,” the coalition said in a statement.

On March 16, Argentina’s National Electoral Chamber approved this year’s electoral schedule, which set August 8 as the day for the open, simultaneous, and mandatory primaries (PASO) elections, defining which candidates will be qualified to compete in the legislative elections in October.

However, the Government sent a legislative proposal to the opposition forces to hold the PASO in September and the legislative elections in November, “understanding that such postponement will contribute to the organization of the electoral process in a pandemic”.

In that sense, the opposition force asked to add a clause to the law by which “it may not be modified or repealed during the current calendar year”.

Likewise, JxC asked for the implementation of a “Unique Ballot” to increase transparency and less circulation of people on election day, thus allowing a decrease in the circulation of paper, saving transportation, and summoning fewer members in the electoral command.

“We always maintained that the rules of the game and its predictability must have broad consensus and are sacred to democracy,” JxC stressed in its statement.

In these elections, which, if the legislative text is approved, will finally be held in November, 127 of the 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 24 of the 72 seats in the Senate will be renewed.