Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

held national presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, 28 October 2007, and elections for provincial governors took place on staggered dates throughout the year. For the national elections, each of the 23

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

and the Autonomous City of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

are considered electoral districts. Voter turnout was 76.2%. Buenos Aires Province Senator and First Lady

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...

of the Front for Victory won the election by 45.28% of votes against

Elisa Carrió Elisa María Avelina "Lilita" Carrió (born 26 December 1956) is an Argentine lawyer, professor, and politician. She is the leader of Civic Coalition ARI, one of the founders of Cambiemos, and was Argentine Chamber of Deputies, National Deputy f ...

Civic Coalition ARI Civic Coalition ARI (, CC-ARI), until October 2009 known as Support for an Egalitarian Republic (, ARI), is a centrist political party in Argentina founded in 2002 by Elisa Carrió. It is a member of Cambiemos since 2015, along with centrist a ...

, making her the second female president of Argentina and the first female president to be directly elected. She broke the 40 percent barrier and won in the first round.

won in the city of

and came second with more than 20 percent of the votes. Third was Roberto Lavagna, who won in Córdoba.

Background

Elections for a successor to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...

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 The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...

, 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

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 At the national level, Argentina elects a head of state (the President) and a legislature. The franchise extends to all citizens aged 16 and over, and voting is mandatory (with a few exceptions) for all those who are between 18 and 70 years of ...

, to win the presidential election without needing a "

ballotage The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

" 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 Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commonl ...

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

Party, nominated the First Lady and Senator

, on July 19. Acknowledging the support of a growing number of UCR figures (" K Radicals") to the

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

policies advanced by Kirchnerism, the FpV nominated

Mendoza Province Mendoza (), officially the Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the r ...

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 UCR, and ran slightly to the right of the FpV),

(a center-left Congresswoman close to the Catholic Church),Con perfume de mujer
''El Espectador'' and numerous conservatives and socialists; in all, fourteen candidates registered for the election. The UCR, for the first time since it first ran in a presidential campaign in 1892, joined a coalition (Lavagna's UNA) rather than nominate its own candidate. The President, who had maintained high approval ratings throughout his term on the heels of a strong recovery in the Argentine economy, was beset by controversies during 2007, including Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno's firing of Graciela Bevacqua (the

INDEC The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (, mostly known for its acronym INDEC) is an Argentine decentralized public body that operates within the Ministry of Economy, which leads all official statistical activities carried out in the co ...

statistician overseeing inflation data), allegations of Planning Minister Julio de Vido's involvement in a Skanska bribery case, and the " suitcase scandal." These controversies, however, did not ultimately overshadow positive consumer sentiment and a generally high presidential job approval.''Reuters'' (5/30?2007)
/ref> The Front for Victory's candidate, Senator and First Lady

, maintained a comfortable lead in polling during the campaign. Her opponents focused on forcing her into a ballotage. However, with 13 challengers splitting the vote, Fernández won a decisive first-round victory with 45.3% of the valid votes, more than 22 points ahead of runner-up Carrió. She won in every province or district except San Luis (won by

Alberto Rodríguez Saá Alberto José Rodriguez-Saá (born August 21, 1949) is an Argentine lawyer and politician. He was Governor of San Luis Province on two separate occasions. He was presidential candidate for the center-right peronism, Orthodox and Federal Peron ...

), Córdoba (won by Lavagna), and the

City of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

(won by Carrió). Carrió, who obtained 23%, made history as the first runner-up to another woman in a national election in the Americas.

Presidential 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: *

: A center-left Peronist, wife of then-president

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. *

: A former

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union (, UCR) is a major political party in Argentina. It has reached the national government on ten occasions, making it one of the most historically important parties in the country. Ideologically, the party has stood for r ...

lawmaker who left the party after President

Fernando de la Rúa Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) served as the President of Argentina from 1999 until his resignation in 2001. A member of the Radical Civic Union, he previously served as national senator for Buenos Aires across non-consecuti ...

abandoned his left-wing allies. She participated in the 2003 election and reached fifth place. Close to the influential

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 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

, who broke ranks with the president in late 2005. He received support from moderate Peronists and was endorsed by the centrist

, 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. *

: Governor of

San Luis Province San Luis () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country (on the 32° South parallel). Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja, Córdo ...

. He represented conservative Peronists opposed to

. His running mate was Héctor María Maya. *

Fernando Solanas Fernando Ezequiel "Pino" Solanas (16 February 1936 – 6 November 2020) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter, Film score, score composer and politician. His films include; ''The Hour of the Furnaces, La hora de los hornos (The Hour of the ...

: The renowned film maker represented the Authentic Socialist Party. Running mate: Ángel Francisco Cadelli. * Jorge Omar Sobisch: Governor of

Neuquén Province Neuquén () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also me ...

. Representing various conservative regional parties. Running mate:

Jorge Asís Jorge Cayetano Zaín Asís (3 March 1946, Avellaneda) is an Argentine writer, journalist and politician. His literary career took off in the 1970s, when he published a daily column in ''Clarín'', and published a number of novels that dealt with ...

. * Ricardo López Murphy: Representing the center-right Recreate for Growth party, in alliance with the

Republican Proposal Republican Proposal (), usually referred to by its abbreviation PRO, is a political party in Argentina. PRO was formed as an electoral alliance in 2005, but was transformed into a national party in 2010. It is the major component of the Juntos ...

party of newly elected

mayor

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previously ...

. He previously ran in the 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 Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

. Running mate: Gabriela Adriana Arroyo. *José Alberto Montes: A Trotskyist who opposed privatizations under

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

. His running mate was Héctor Antonio Heberling. *Luis Alberto Ammann: Representing the 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

in 1990. Running mate: Héctor Raúl Vergara. *Juan Ricardo Mussa: Perennial candidate and self-styled "traditional"

. Running mate: Bernardo Nespral. Image:Cristina vota.jpg, Kirchner Image:Elisa Carrió votes (2007-10-28) - 2.jpg, Carrió Image:Roberto-Lavagna.jpg, Lavagna Image:Alberto Rodriguez Saa.jpg, Rodríguez Saá Image:Pino Solanas (Guadalajara Film Festival).jpg, Solanas

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

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

for Pres. Néstor Kirchner. Binner thus became the first

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

governor in Argentina's history and the first non-

Justicialist The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fou ...

elected governor of that province. Center-left Fabiana Ríos ( ARI) became the first woman elected governor in Argentina, winning an upset in Tierra del Fuego Province, while the moderately conservative

was elected Mayor of Buenos Aires (an office similar to governor) in June 2007.Pour la première fois, un socialiste est élu gouverneur d'une province argentine
''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'', September 4, 2007

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, cl ...

and

Santiago del Estero Province Santiago del Estero (), also known simply as Santiago, is a Provinces of Argentina, province in the north of Argentina. Neighboring provinces, clockwise from the north, are Salta Province, Salta, Chaco Province, Chaco, Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, ...

did not have elections for governors in 2007, as they had already taken place in 2005.

References

External links

National Electoral Direction
– Ministry of Interior of Argentina
Argentina Elections

Official Election Results
{{CFK 2007 elections in Argentina Presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...