| Argentina |
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Argentina held national parliamentary elections on Sunday, 14 October 2001. Turnout was 75.6% and the results were as follows:
Contents |
| Party/Electoral Alliance | Seats | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Justicialist Party | 121 | 35.8% |
| UCR Broad Front Frepaso |
65 8 7 |
|
| Alliance | 80 | 22.6% |
| ARI | 16 | 7.4% |
| Front for Change | 4 | 4.1% |
| Action for the Republic | 4 | 1.1% |
| Democratic Progressive Party | 4 | 0.8% |
| Neuquén People's Movement | 3 | 0.4% |
| Federalist Unity | 2 | 2.1% |
| Self-determination and Freedom | 2 | 1.0% |
| Others | 21 | 24.7% |
| Invalid votes | 24.0% | |
| Total seats | 257 |
| Party/alliance | Seats | Vote percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Justicialist Party | 40 | 31.3% |
| Frepaso UCR |
19 6 |
17.7% 3.5% |
| Alliance | 25 | 21.2% |
| Neuquén People's Movement | 2 | 0.4% |
| ARI | 1 | 4.9% |
| Front for Everyone (Corrientes Province) |
1 | 2.5% |
| Republican Force | 1 | 0.7% |
| Salta Renewal Party | 1 | 0.6% |
| Front with Everyone (La Rioja Province) |
1 | 0.3% |
| Others | - | 38.1% |
| Invalid votes | 22.6% | |
| Total seats | 72 |
The opposition Justicialist Party took control of both houses of the National Congress, severely limiting the power of the administration of the UCR-FrePaSo party alliance led by President Fernando de la Rúa, which lost 26 seats. The Argentine Senate faced its first elections since 1995, and per an agreement crafted following the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution, all 72 seats would be renewed, and elected Senators would serve for two, four, or six-years in their first term afterwards. Senators, save for the City of Buenos Aires, had been elected by their respective provincial legislatures, and would now be popularly elected.
The change cost provincial parties, who lost four seats among them. The Justicialists, which had enjoyed a majority in the Senate since the return of democracy in 1983, gained one seat, and the Alliance, benefiting from the popular election of Senators despite the political climate, actually gained three. Growing disunity in the Alliance was reflected by UCR Senators elected on the UCR ticket itself in Chubut, Córdoba, Formosa, Santiago del Estero, and Tierra del Fuego.[3] [4]
The elections were seen as a rebuke for President de la Rúa and his handling of the economic crisis, which was now in its fourth year of recession. The Justicialists (Peronists), which gained 22 seats in the Lower House, benefited from being the leading party in opposition, as did their 1999 presidential nominee, Eduardo Duhalde, who was elected Senator for Buenos Aires Province, and theoretically emerged as the front-runner for the next presidential campaign in 2003.[5]
Despite the compulsory nature of the elections, a larger than usual percentage of citizens (25 %) did not turn out to vote, and many resorted to a protest vote, with blank as well as spoiled or defaced ballots (the so-called voto bronca, "anger vote") amounting to nearly 4.5 million, or 24 % of the total.[1][6] De la Rúa's term was ultimately cut short by his resignation amid the December 2001 riots.
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