The national government has summoned Congress for extraordinary sessions between December 5 and 27 to debate six bills including the elimination of the PASO primaries via electoral reform, Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni said Thursday. The other bills cover political reform, trials in absentia, the anti-mafia law, presidential travel and the reform of political immunity – but not the 2025 Budget presented with such fanfare by President Javier Milei last September 15, due to a lack of consensus in Congress committees.
Other absentees in Adorni’s list were the privatisation of Aerolíneas Argentinas, the ‘Ficha Limpia’ bill to bar those with confirmed corruption convictions from electoral candidacy and the Supreme Court nominations of Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla with the votes reportedly lacking. The government aim for the extraordinary sessions is to advance with its electoral reform package, including the elimination of the PASO primaries and changes in party financing.
Libertarian deputy Martín Menem was re-elected as Congress Speaker on Wednesday with the support of most parliamentary caucuses, except Unión por la Patria, which decided to abstain. His vice-presidents will be Cecilia Moreau (Unión por la Patria), Silvia Lospennato (PRO) and Julio Cobos (UCR). Presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei and Adorni were among those present at the speaker's re-election.
– TIMES/NA
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