2023-11-19 22:09:00
The polling stations closed at 6 p.m. local time (10 p.m. CET), and the first results were expected around 9 p.m. (1 a.m. Monday), according to the daily newspaper “La Nación.” Voter turnout was 76 percent, two percentage points higher than in the first round.
Around 35 million people were called to vote in South America’s second largest country. In the midst of a severe economic crisis, the self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” Milei promises a radical regarding-face: He wants to introduce the US dollar as legal tender, abolish the central bank and many ministries and cut social spending. Government candidate Massa, on the other hand, is likely to continue the current policy with massive state intervention in the economy and extensive social programs.
After the polls closed, Milei expressed doubts regarding the electoral process. He called on his election inspectors to be careful when counting the votes. “The most demanding hours are those that come now. Kirchnernism (pejorative term for the government camp led by corruption-ridden ex-President Cristina Kirchner, note) will do everything to set traps for us during the counting. Please stay in schools (Polling stations, note), defend the votes, this is the moment of truth,” he said. The government camp also emphasized the importance of the vote. “These are without a doubt the most important elections of the last 40 years of democracy,” said Tourism Minister Matías Lammens.
South America’s second largest economy is in a deep economic crisis. The inflation rate is over 140 percent, and around 40 percent of people in the once rich country live below the poverty line. Argentina suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large shadow economy that deprives the state of much tax revenue. The national currency, the peso, continues to lose value once morest the US dollar and the mountain of debt is constantly growing.
According to consistent reports, a total of five people were arrested in the run-up to the runoff election for alleged threats once morest Massa. After the arrest of three men and a woman on Friday, an 18-year-old woman was arrested in the northern Argentine city of Salta on Saturday, according to Security Minister Aníbal Fernández. As the news portal “Infobae” reported, citing judicial circles, the teenager is said to have threatened to kill the 17-year-old son of presidential candidate Massa in a direct message on the online service Instagram. On Thursday, a federal judge opened an investigation and ordered personal protection for Massa’s family following a series of threatening messages were discovered on online networks.
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