General Information
At stake in this election:
- 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados)
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER *
- Head of Government: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER
- Assembly: Argentina has a bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la nación) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 72 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) with 257 seats.
* The electoral system is two-round. To avoid a runoff, the winner must win 45 percent of valid votes. Alternatively, she must win 40 percent of valid votes and at least 10 points more than the next-placed candidate.
Description of electoral system:
- The President is elected by qualified majority to serve a 4-year term.
- In the Senate (Senado) 72 members are elected by regional legislatures to serve 6-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) 257 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms.**
* One-third of the Senate is renewable every two years.
** One-half of the Chamber of Deputies is renewable every two years. Party lists are closed. There are 24 multi-member districts. The threshold is 3 percent.
Main parties in the electoral race:
- Party: Front for Victory (FV) / Frente para la Victoria
- Leader: Cristina Fernandez de KIRCHNER
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
- Party: Justicialist Party (PJ) / Partido Justicialista
- Leader: Eduardo CAMANO
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
- Party: Justicialist Front (FJ) / Frente Justicialista
- Leader: N/A
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
- Party: Alternative for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI) / Alternativa por una Republica de Igualges
- Leader: Elisa CARRIO
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
- Party: Radical Civic Union (UCR)
- Leader: Gerardo MORALES
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
- Party: Socialist Party (PS)
- Leader: Ruben GIUSTINIANI
- Seats won in last Senate election: 0
- Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 0
Population and number of registered voters:
- Population: 40,913,584 (July 2009 est.)
- Registered Voters: 26,098,546
Gender Data:
· Female Population: 20,843,136 (2009)
· Is Argentina a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
· Has Argentina ratified CEDAW: Yes (15 July 1985)
· Gender Quota: Yes
· Female candidates in this election: Yes
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 47 (Chamber of Deputies); 8 (Senate)
· Human Development Index Position: 40 (2014)
· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)
Disability Data:
· Is Argentina a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
· Has Argentina ratified CRPD: Yes (2 September 2008)
· Population with a disability: 6,137,037 (est.)