MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Leading Argentine incumbent Vice-president hopeful steps down

Cristina Fernandez will be registering her running mate on Saturday

A leading candidate to become Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s running mate in the October presidential elections has been discarded following his decision to run for re-election as governor of his province.

“It had never been on my personal agenda to go for the Vice-president role” said Chaco Province Governor Jorge Capitanich on confirming his intentions to seek re-election in the provincial elections on September 18.

Argentina’s Executive office press room said that President Cristina Fernandez would be announcing her running mate Saturday afternoon.

During a press conference hosted by the Government House in Chaco Friday morning, the provincial governor ratified his promise to go up for re-election in the province supporting the Chaco Deserves More Front (Frente Chaco Merece Más).

Capitanich on Thursday night met with Cristina Fernandez at the Olivos presidential residence, which had fuelled speculations over the possibility of him becoming a candidate for vice-president. Furthermore, he said, “there was no formal proposal” to integrate him into the incumbent presidential picture, a Chaco newspaper informed.

The governor clarified his meeting with Fernández de Kirchner was “excellent”, and admitted that the President had his complete “political support.”

Fernandez de Kirchner, who has a wide lead over opposition rivals in opinion polls, has until Saturday to register candidates, including her running mate.

Other figures tipped as potential vice presidents include Media Secretary Juan Manuel Abal Medina, Economy Minister Amado Boudou and Entre Rios provincial governor Sergio Urribarri

In related news the leading representative of Argentina’s organized labour in Congress, lawmaker Héctor Recalde denied that CGT union labour leaders are “upset” over the ruling party’s official lawmakers’ ballot, although he explained that “some of them may be anxious,” since they are “hoping to run for office” as part of the President’s party.

Recalde said that drafting the list of lawmakers featured in the Kirchnerite ballot on the August 14 primary elections “is the normal procedure” for determining who will be competing in the October 23 general elections.

“The highest ranking official in the Peronist movement right now is the President, so it’s up to her to decide who’s going to be in the ballot,” he said.
After denying any discomfort in the CGT, Recalde urged the population to listen to the organization’s leader, Hugo Moyano, and explained that his absence in the televised conference in which President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced her decision to seek re-election was due to him being away in the province of Buenos Aires.