At stake in this election:

• 24 seats in the Senate (Senado)

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, they 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 through a closed-list proportional representation system 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 / Frente para la Victoria (FPV)
  • Leader: Cristina FERNANDEZ
  • Seats won in this election: 12
• Party: Radical Civic Union / Unión Cívica Radical (UCR)
  • Leader: Ernesto SANZ
  • Seats won in this election: 3
• Party: Popular Union / Unión Popular (UP)
  • Leader: Luis FERNANDEZ
• Alliance: Workers Left Front / Frente de Izquierda y de los Trabajadores****
  • Leader: Jorge ALTAMIRA
• Party: Socialist Party / Partido Socialista (PS)
  • Leader: Ruben GIUSTINIANI
• Coalition: Civic Coalition / Coalición Cívica (CC)
  • Leader: Elisa CARRIO

**** The Workers Left Front is an alliance consisting of the Workers' Party (PO), the Socialist Workers' Party (PTS), and Socialist Left (IS)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 41,769,726 (July 2011 est.)
• Registered Voters: 28,867,162 (October 2011 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 21,279,847 (2011)

·         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); 9 (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: 6,265,458 (est.)