Normality Marks Election Day in Argentina

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez celebrated that normality marked Election Day to renew half of the seats in the Lower Chamber and one-third of the Senate.

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"We have just cast our vote, a day of democracy... Everything is going smoothly and what we are asking Argentineans to do is to go and express themselves," Fernandez said.

The National Electoral Chamber (CNE) reported that 30.5 percent of the electoral roll had already voted at 12H00 local time. The first official results will be announced at 21.30 local time.

Buenos Aires province with 37 percent of the electoral roll, Cordoba with (8.69 percent), Santa Fe (8.06 percent), and the Argentine capital (7.43 percent) are the districts with the largest amount of voters. 

Some 34.3 million Argentineans are called to elect 127 lawmakers- out of 257 that make up the Lower House - for a four-year term. In eight provinces, they will also vote for 24 senators - out of the 72 that make up the Upper House - for the next six years.

Nearly 90,000 members of the armed and security forces are guarding over 100,000 polling stations in at least 17,000 schools and other precincts nationwide. 

In September's primaries known as PASO, the opposition coalition Together for the Change obtained more than 40 percent of the votes, while the ruling Front for All surpassed 30 percent.