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President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner’s bid to secure two-thirds majorities in both houses of the Argentine legislature has suffered a setback in a primary vote for mid-term congressional elections. Massa’s party, Frente Renovador, held a firm lead over the president’s Frente para la Victoria with 97 percent of the vote counted.
Former Cabinet Chief Sergio Massa’s win over the president’s hand-picked candidate, Martin Insaurralde, was qualified as a “significant blow” for Fernandez de Kirchner according to a Barclays Plc. release. Their analysts saw the result as “positive for investors.”
Sunday’s vote was the country’s first obligatory primary ahead of the vote on October 27, 2013. Half the seats in Congress and a third of seats in the Senate will be on the line, as well as any bid by Fernandez de Kirchner to push through constitutional changes to allow a third presidential term. The loss — Frente para La Victoria garnered just 26 percent of the votes nationwide — also highlighted that losing the legislature would hand Fernandez de Kirchner a lame-duck presidency.
Source: Bloomberg News. Read More »
