Electoral Rules

Presidential System:

 The president is elected for a four-year term with the possibility of one sucessive term.
If none of the candidates receives 45% or more of the votes in the first round of voting, a second round is held.

 Legislative system:

 Bicameral Congress. The 257 deputies are elected for four-year terms and may be re-elected. Half of the Chamber of Deputies is renewed every two years. The 48 senators are elected a ccording to procedure established in local provincial constitutions. One third of the Senate is renewed every two years.

Governors and Municipalities:

Governors and local authorities are elected according to the 25 provincial constitutions.

General Election Information:

 In December of 1983, Argentina returned to a democracy and since then has had free and fair democratic elections. In April 1994, elections were held to form a Constituent Assembly. The Assembly modified the 1953 Constitution with several reforms, including reduction of the president’s term — from six to four years, with the possibility of of a second term — and the adoption of a second round of voting if no candidate receives a majority in the first round. In addition, the reforms abolished the electoral college system.

 

Argentina has a presidential form of government and a bicameral legislature. It is a federal republic consisting of 23 provinces and a semi-autonomous federal capital. Provincial governments are extremely important political entities. They possess their own constitutions, control very large budgets, and exercise influence over vital areas of public policy.

The Chamber of Deputies has 257 members, elected from province-wide multi member districts for four year terms. The deputies are chosen from closed party lists using proportional representation. One half of the Chamber is renewed every two years, with every district renewing one-half its legislators.

The political parties employ three methods of candidate selection: elite arrangement, assembly election, and direct primary. Regardless of which method is used, the province-level party leaders are the key players in the nomination process, with the national party leadership and rank-and file members playing a decidedly secondary role.

Within this institutional context, legislators have little incentive to work hard to improve their visibility in the eyes of the voters and no incentive to develop legislative policy expertise. The institutional barriers to reelection, therefore, generate widespread “shirking”.

Because of the existence of closed party lists and the ability of congressional party leaders to distribute a wide range of material and political resources in the legislature, parties in Argentina are highly disciplined.