Argentine government postpones Senate consideration of primary reform due to lack of votes — The Rio Times

The government of Argentine President Javier Milei has postponed further consideration in the Senate of a bill to suspend the mandatory national PASO primaries ahead of the 2027 presidential election. As The Rio Times reports, citing TN, the authorities do not plan to convene the relevant committee until they secure enough votes to pass the initiative.

The required 37 votes

Changing the electoral rules requires an absolute majority in the 72-seat Senate — 37 votes. Milei's La Libertad Avanza party has 21 senators, so it needs to secure the support of another 16 members of the upper house of parliament. These include votes from representatives of the Radical Civic Union, the PRO party, provincial blocs, and dissident Peronists.

According to TN, the government has abandoned plans to obtain a committee opinion and put the document to a vote in the last week of October. The last meeting of the Constitutional Affairs Committee was held on September 15, but it also did not adopt an opinion on the reform at that time.

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What the initiative provides for

Initially, the bill provided for the complete abolition of PASO, but negotiations are now focused on suspending them for the 2027 election. In that case, the mechanism would remain in legislation but would not be applied during the next presidential campaign.

Changes to the single paper ballot are also being discussed, which would allow a voter to choose an entire list of a particular party with one mark. Diego Santilli, who heads the government cabinet, has said that holding the primaries costs about $200 million and may force residents of some provinces to vote five or six times a year.

The bill is competing for parliamentary time with consideration of the 2027 budget. According to the publication, the government is considering extending the regular parliamentary session until December to have more time for negotiations with allies and provincial representatives.