Election Reform Debate in Argentina: Abolition of PASO and Joint Candidate System on the Agenda

The Argentine Government plans to radically change the country's electoral system as part of its preparations for the 2027 elections. The electoral reform, which is one of the priority agenda items for the second term of the legislature, envisages the abolition of the PASO (Open, Simultaneous and Mandatory Primaries) system in particular. In the government's new system, the aim is to introduce a unified joint candidate list (colectoras) mechanism that will operate in an integrated manner with a single paper ballot. This change has a nature that will directly affect the structure of political alliances and candidate nomination processes in the country. However, the proposed reform package is causing intense negotiations and varied reactions from political parties in Congress.

The most decisive factor in the enactment of the reform project is the issue of timing, as radical changes such as the abolition of PASO are seen as a legal requirement to be implemented in a non-election year. For this reason, the bill needs to be discussed and approved in extraordinary sessions this year or by February 2027 at the latest. Although the bill was added to last year's first extraordinary session call, the full content of the text was only shared with the public in March. The government is making intense diplomatic efforts to persuade different blocs in Congress to accept the legislative proposal. In the event that the process is prolonged or blocked, the likelihood of the targeted electoral reform making it in time for the 2027 elections will be significantly weakened.

On the other hand, opposition parties such as the Radical Civic Union (UCR) and PRO have been clearly opposing the complete abolition of PASO from the very beginning. In order to overcome these difficult obstacles and reach the required number of legislators in the parliament, the government has brought the old 'colectoras' (combining candidates from different parties in a single list) system back to the agenda. Thanks to this alternative system, opposition parties will gain the option to support Javier Milei in the presidential election while having the flexibility to submit their own congressional candidate lists independently. This mechanism allows parties to continue their own organization without having to be part of the libertarian movement's list. This move is interpreted as a strategic maneuver by the government aimed at both breaking the opposition's resistance and gaining the support of regional legislators.

Since the general stance on the opposition front is in favor of preserving PASO, the government's bill continues to face strong resistance. National Senator Beatriz Ávila, representing the wing open to dialogue, stated that she has not made a clear decision regarding the abolition of PASO and is still in the evaluation phase. Regarding the bill, which has begun to be discussed in senate commissions and has only had one session so far, Ávila added that she is meticulously examining the joint candidate system proposed by the government. The stance of pro-dialogue figures like Ávila seems poised to play a decisive role in whether the reform will pass through Congress. This picture of uncertainty reveals how fragile the search for new alliances is in Argentine politics.

Senator Ávila's agenda is not limited to the electoral reform debates; she also closely follows the local issues and economic goals of her own region, the province of Tucumán. In this context, she met with representatives of the Tucumán Industry Association (Unión Industrial de Tucumán) to discuss regional development strategies and the challenges faced by the production sector. Industry representatives presented a comprehensive set of proposals aimed at increasing the competitiveness of regional economies, creating new employment areas, and encouraging local investments. During the meeting, topics such as strengthening energy and logistics infrastructure, SMEs' access to new technologies, supporting exports, and increasing regional employment were addressed as priority headings. Ávila emphasized that remaining in constant dialogue with the producing and investing sectors is essential for the development of the provinces and the construction of true federalism.