Argentine President Javier Milley achieved a big victory in the mid-term elections, world agencies summarize, BTA reported.
At the national level, his party "Liberty Advances" received 40.84 percent, according to partial results with 90 percent of the ballots counted, Agence France-Presse indicates.
Thus, Milley's party is ahead of the Peronist opposition, united in the "Strength of the Fatherland" bloc, which received 31.7 percent, the Associated Press adds.
The elections during the middle of Milley's term were for partial renewal of the two chambers of the Argentine parliament. They are of crucial importance for Milley, who until now had 15 percent of deputies in the lower house of parliament and 10 percent of senators in the upper house. This allowed the parliament to override the presidential veto on bills that Milley tried to block, commented Agence France-Presse.
Now the victory in the elections will increase the presence of Milley's party in parliament and strengthen its ability to reform and deregulate the country. This victory comes at a time when Argentina's economy and finances are in a fragile state, also noted Reuters.
Milley believed that winning a third of the seats in parliament, in whose two chambers he does not have an absolute majority, would be a good opportunity for him. This is a threshold that allows him to impose his veto on parliamentarians.
The election results showed that Milley's party won 41.5 percent in the province Buenos Aires, long considered a Peronist stronghold, added Reuters. The Peronists now have 40.8 percent.
Nationally, Milley's party won 64 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, up from 37, Reuters added.
The election was contested for half of the 127 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, as well as 24 seats in the Senate, a third of the seats in the upper house, the agency recalled.
Until now, Milley has only six senators out of 37 deputies.
The White House and foreign investors have been impressed by Milley's government's ability to significantly reduce monthly inflation - from 12.8 percent before Milley took office to 2.1 percent last month - to achieve a fiscal surplus and adopt radical measures to deregulation. But Milley's popularity has waned in recent months due to public discontent with public spending cuts and a corruption scandal involving his sister, who is also his chief of staff, Reuters reported.
Political experts said before the vote that more than 35% of the vote would be a positive result for Milley's government and would allow it, through alliances with other parties, to block efforts by opposition lawmakers to override his veto of laws that Milley says threaten Argentina's fiscal balance.
Milley said there would be cabinet changes after the election, which could include members of the centrist Republican Proposal party, which is often an ally of Milley's party in Congress and is led by former President Mauricio Macri.
A victory for Milley in the election would be good news for the White House, which is planning a bailout package of $40 billion for Argentina, including a $20 billion currency swap and a possible $20 billion debt investment facility.
The initial election results also showed that Milley's party won six of the eight provinces that voted on Sunday to renew a third of the Senate, the Associated Press reported.
Argentina's parliamentary elections have probably never attracted so much interest in Washington and on Wall Street, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could cancel $20 billion in financial aid for his close ally in financially troubled Argentina if Milley loses to the Peronists in the election.
But the international community's interest in the Argentine vote was not felt in Argentina itself. Although voting is compulsory, electoral authorities reported that turnout yesterday was slightly below 68 percent, which is one of the lowest values recorded since the restoration of democracy in the country in 1983, the Associated Press adds.