With just a few days left until the Nov. 19 runoff elections in Argentina, which will determine if the country actually joins the BRICS or not, the mentally unstable Libertarian extremist Javier Milei is loudly proclaiming that he will be a victim of fraud, and that there were “grave irregularities” in the Oct. 22 elections in which he came in second. The latest polls show Milei and his opponent Sergio Massa of the ruling Unity for the Fatherland (UxP) coalition to be in a tight race, only a few percentage points apart.
In the Argentine electoral system, each candidate or party is responsible for delivering the correct number of ballots to each polling site, based on the number of registered voters. There are poll watchers designated by each candidate to make sure enough ballots are available and have extras on hand if there is a shortage. It was recently revealed, however, that Milei’s LLA party has delivered only a small part of the necessary number of ballots to each polling place in the city and province of Buenos Aires, where the largest number of voters in the country are located.
Several respected journalists have warned that a shortage of ballots at any site could create chaos, and even disrupt the voting, if people were to claim they are being denied the right to vote and demand that all voting stop. This kind of confusion is just what Milei and his new godfather, ex-President Mauricio Macri, would love to see. There is also talk that if the election is close, and Milei loses by a few points, he would try to imitate former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, claim fraud and not recognize the election results.
Fortunately, authorities at the National Electoral Board (JNE) have responded to Milei’s claims of impending “irregularities” by giving his LLA party until midday Nov. 18 to hand out the correct number of ballots to each polling place. If those ballots aren’t made available, this will be entirely LLA’s responsibility, the JNE warned. The Argentine electoral system is very well organized with good ballot security. So, federal Judge Servini de Cubrini also rejected LLA’s request that it be granted full custody and control of ballot boxes and supervise all documentation.
