Polling stations in Argentina closed this Sunday at 6pm local time (10pm GMT) after voting in the primaries ahead of the presidential election on October 22.
Numerous centers in Buenos Aires were exempt from this provision due to the “inconveniences” caused by the electronic voting system implemented in the country’s capital for the election of local authorities, which caused delays and long queues of citizens to meet the payment obligation comply.
The law foresees that the first results of the provisional vote will be released from 9 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Monday in Portugal), although the government has already announced that the complexity of the voting system – due in part to the aforementioned electronic voting – can lead to delays in counting.
The electoral judge María Servini has not formally extended the voting period, but granted an additional period for the latter to reach the polls, after denouncing numerous malfunctions in the machines this afternoon and their vulnerability to possible manipulations.
The National Electoral Chamber also said it was “concerned about the situation” as it became difficult for voters to participate in the city.
In a statement, the Magistrates of the Electoral Court indicated that “the malfunction of the municipal voting machines must not interrupt voting in national elections, without prejudice to the consequences for the citizens of the situation that has arisen”.
However, the Argentine authorities assured that “the first simultaneous elections in the city of Buenos Aires started this morning normally and are proceeding smoothly in the 1097 establishments set up for this purpose”, and that only 87 machines with the new electronic voting system, less than 1 percent of the total experienced disturbances.
Argentines voted in primaries designed to designate the candidates who will run in the October elections and participation was 28% of those registered by the end of the local morning. At 6 p.m., turnout was 66%.
According to information made available by the National Electoral Chamber up to noon local time (4 p.m. in Lisbon), a participation of 28% of those registered has been registered, representing less than a third of the 35 million voters called for the election . polls in these primaries intended to choose the presidential candidates, but also the parties that will contest the parliamentary mandates on October 22.
To participate in the elections in October, parties must obtain at least 1.5% of the vote.
The level of participation in the middle of election day was considered “normal” by the election authorities, according to the EFE bureau.
However, in a context of popular discontent, with the country experiencing economic difficulties and high inflation, key political leaders called for participation, fearing that abstinence would be high.
One of the first to vote was the current Minister of Economy, Sérgio Massa, aspiring candidate for the Union for the Fatherland, who said he had “good expectations” of the result and said it is “a first step” on the way to the goal of perpetuating the Peronists in power.
In Together for Change (center right), the main opposition coalition, the two pre-candidates, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and Patricia Bullrich, lived opposing situations. The mayor of Buenos Aires was able to vote without any problems, but Bullrich faced delays in electronic voting, which many voters in the capital denounced.
Current Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, who is not running for re-election and will step down on December 10, recalled that the country is celebrating 40 years of democracy.
“Every time you vote, Argentina becomes a better country. When people vote, they choose their destiny, they protect their rights, they think about their future and that of their children,” he said.
Source: DN
