Sergio Massa, the Economy Minister and presidential candidate for the ruling coalition "Union for the Homeland," stated that he has "positive expectations" regarding the outcome of the primary elections taking place in Argentina on Sunday.
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"Today marks a first step. Every political force will determine their candidates. We hold optimistic expectations for today," Massa affirmed after casting his vote at a school in Tigre, a locality within the Buenos Aires province.
Massa, leader of the Peronist Renewal Front, the third influential force within the ruling coalition, declared that he entered this day "satisfied with the work done within the campaign" and "with the anticipation of a significant voter turnout."
In July, Massa was chosen as the unity candidate among the faction aligned with President Alberto Fernandez, the group associated with Vice President Cristina Fernandez-Kirchner, and the Renewal Front.
In the internal race of the Union for the Homeland, Juan Grabois, a presidential candidate representing a minority left-center space within the ruling coalition, is also competing.
Mid-morning, Massa will gather at his home with the governor of the Buenos Aires province, Axel Kicillof, who is seeking re-election, and with the mayoral candidate for Buenos Aires from the Peronist coalition, Leandro Santoro.
Once the polls are closed, Massa will go to a cultural center in Buenos Aires where the Union for the Homeland will await the release of the provisional results of these primaries.
Around 35.4 million Argentinians are summoned to define the candidate lists with their votes, which will be eligible to compete in the general elections on October 22.
These elections will decide the president and vice president, renew 130 out of 257 seats in the Lower House, 24 out of 72 seats in the Senate, and elect 43 Argentine representatives for the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur), the legislative body of the integration bloc composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
For this primaries, 17,432 schools and other venues across the country have been opened, with a total of 108,107 polling stations.