MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Elections suspended in Argentine province

The gubernatorial election in Argentina's Catamarca province was suspended today Sunday after a wave of violence was unleashed by supporters of banned Peronist candidate Luis Barrionuevo.

The decision to suspend the elections was announced by Gov. Oscar Castillo five hours after the opening of the polls to the province's 210,000 registered voters.

Castillo placed the blame directly on Barrionuevo, whose supporters removed ballot boxes, threw fire bombs at polling places and staged other serious incidents to impede the elections.

Barrionuevo, a senator, president of the Chacarita Juniors soccer club and husband of Labor Minister Graciela Camaño, had been barred from running for governor because he had not lived in this north-western province for the required four years before the elections.