Background
Elections for a successor to President of Argentina, President Néstor Kirchner were held in October. Kirchner, although not term-limited had declined to run for a second term. In addition to the President, each district elected a number of members of the Lower House (the Chamber of Deputies) roughly proportional to their population, and eight districts elected members to the Argentine Senate, where each district is entitled to three senators (two for the majority, one for the largest minority party). In most provinces, the national elections were conducted in parallel with local ones, whereby a number of List of cities in Argentina, municipalities elect legislative officials (''concejales'') and in some cases also a mayor (or the equivalent executive post). Each provincial election follows local regulations and some, such as Tucumán, hold municipal elections on other dates in the year. According to the rules for elections in Argentina, to win the presidential election without needing a "ballotage in Argentina, ballotage" round, a candidate needs either more than 45% of the valid votes, or more than 40% of the valid votes with a margin of 10 points from the runner-up. Following months of speculation, and despite high approval ratings, President Kirchner confirmed his decision to forfeit the 2007 race, and the ruling Front for Victory (FpV), a center-left Peronist Party, nominated the First Lady and Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, on July 19. Acknowledging the support of a growing number of Radical Civic Union, UCR figures ("Radicales K, K Radicals") to the Populism, populist policies advanced by Kirchnerism, the FpV nominated Mendoza Province Governor Julio Cobos as her running mate. The ideologically diverse field also included former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna (who broke with Kirchner in late 2005, obtained the endorsement of the Radical Civic Union, UCR, and ran slightly to the right of the FpV), Elisa Carrió (a center-left Congresswoman close to the Catholic Church),Con perfume de mujerPresidential candidates
A total of 14 candidates were on the presidential ballot, although only 3 or 4 garnered statistically significant amounts of support in polls. The candidates were as follows: *Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: A center-left Peronist, wife of then-president Néstor Kirchner and his chosen successor, since he declined to run for reelection. She won the presidency in the first round with about 45% of the vote. *Elisa Carrió: A former Radical Civic Union lawmaker who left the party after President Fernando de la Rúa abandoned his left-wing allies. She participated in the 2003 Argentine presidential election, 2003 election and reached fifth place. Close to the influential Church-state relations in Argentina, Catholic Church, she ran a center-left platform with running mate Rubén Héctor Giustiniani and came in second with about 23% of the vote. *Roberto Lavagna: Former Minister of Economy under Néstor Kirchner, who broke ranks with the president in late 2005. He received support from moderate Peronists and was endorsed by the centrist Radical Civic Union, in lieu of putting forth a candidate themselves. He ran on a platform described as "center-progressive" and came in third, with 17% of the vote. His running mate was Gerardo Rubén Morales. *Alberto Rodríguez Saá: Governor of San Luis Province. He represented conservative Peronists opposed to Néstor Kirchner. His running mate was Héctor María Maya. *Fernando Solanas: The renowned film maker represented the Authentic Socialist Party (Argentina), Authentic Socialist Party. Running mate: Ángel Francisco Cadelli. *Jorge Omar Sobisch: Governor of Neuquén Province. Representing various conservative regional parties. Running mate: Jorge Asís. *Ricardo López Murphy: Representing the center-right Recreate for Growth party, in alliance with the Republican Proposal party of newly elected Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri. He previously ran in the 2003 Argentine presidential election, 2003 election, reaching third place. Running mate: Esteban Bullrich. *Vilma Ripoll: Running mate: Héctor Bidonde, both longtime Socialists. *Néstor Pitrola: Representing the Trotskyist Workers' Party (Argentina), Workers' Party. Running mate: Gabriela Adriana Arroyo. *José Alberto Montes: A Trotskyite who opposed privatizations under Carlos Menem. His running mate was Héctor Antonio Heberling. *Luis Alberto Ammann: Representing the Humanist Party (Argentina), Humanist Party-led Broad Front Towards Latin American Unity Alliance. Running mate: Rogelio Deleonardi. *Raúl Castells: A ''piquetero'' (poverty activist) who participated in various incidents. His running mate was his wife, Nina Pelozo. *Gustavo Luis Breide Obeid: A right-wing nationalist who participated in a failed coup against Carlos Menem in 1990. Running mate: Héctor Raúl Vergara. *Juan Ricardo Mussa: Perennial candidate and self-styled "traditional" Peronist. Running mate: Bernardo Nespral.Results
President
Chamber of Deputies
Results by province
Senate
Results by province
Governors
The elections for governors took place in ten provinces in September, which were won in six provinces by Kirchner's Front for Victory. Hermes Binner was elected governor of Santa Fe, defeating Peronist Rafael Bielsa, the former Foreign relations of Argentina, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Pres. Néstor Kirchner. Binner thus became the first Socialist Party (Argentina), Socialist governor in Argentina's history and the first non-Justicialism, Justicialist elected governor of that province. Center-left Fabiana Ríos (Support for an Egalitarian Republic, ARI) became the first woman elected governor in Argentina, winning an upset in Tierra del Fuego Province (Argentina), Tierra del Fuego Province, while the moderately conservative Mauricio Macri was elected List of Mayors and Chiefs of Government of Buenos Aires, Mayor of Buenos Aires (an office similar to governor) in June 2007.Pour la première fois, un socialiste est élu gouverneur d'une province argentineReferences
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