Argentine general election, 2003
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Argentina held presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, April 27, 2003. The winning candidate was former Santa Cruz governor Néstor Kirchner.
For the first time since the return of democracy (1983), the Justicialist Party (Partido Justicialista, PJ) failed to agree on a presidential candidate. For that reason three strong candidates from this party were on the ballots (Carlos Menem, the aforementioned Néstor Kirchner, and Adolfo Rodríguez Saá), none of them officially supported by the party.
After the political collapse at the peak of the economic crisis that led to the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa, the popular support for the Radical Civic Union (Unión Cívica Radical, UCR, traditionally the PJ's opposition) was at its lowest level. Two strong former members of the UCR founded parties based on their political tendencies (Elisa Carrió founded a left-of-center party, the ARI, and Ricardo López Murphy founded a right-wing one, Recrear).
These five strong candidates were practically tied in all the pre-election polls. Menem obtained the most votes in the first round, but not enough to be elected (about 25%), so a runoff voting against Kirchner was required. After two terms in office, Menem's popularity was very low, and anticipating a landslide defeat (the polls favored Kirchner 70%–30%), he finally declined, and Néstor Kirchner became the elected president immediately.
[edit] Results
| Candidates | Nominating parties | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Saúl Menem | Front for Liberty | 4,740,907 | 19.48 |
| Union of the Democratic Centre (Unión del Centro Democrático) | 4.97 | ||
| Néstor Carlos Kirchner | Front for Victory (Frente para la Victoria) | 4,312,517 | 22.24 |
| Ricardo López Murphy | Recreate for Growth (Recrear para el Crecimiento) | 3,173,475 | 16.37 |
| Adolfo Rodríguez Saá | Front of the Popular Movement (Frente Movimiento Popular) | 2,735,829 | 12.07 |
| Union and Liberty Party (Partido Unión y Libertad) | 2.04 | ||
| Elisa María Avelina Carrió | Alternative for a Republic of Equals (Alternativa para una República de Iguales) | 2,723,574 | 14.05 |
| Leopoldo Raúl Guido Moreau | Radical Civic Union (Unión Civica Radical) | 453,360 | 2.34 |
| Patricia Walsh | United Left (Izquierda Unida) | 332,863 | 1.72 |
| Alfredo Bravo | Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) | 217,385 | 1.12 |
| Total positive votes | 19,387,895 | ||
| Total votes | 19,930,111 | ||
| Source: Ministerio del Interior | |||
[edit] External links
- Andy Tow's Election Atlas: Presidential, Legislative and Gubernatorial elections in Argentina since 1983.
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