Alphas, Frogs and Testimonials: The Political Culture of the Midterm Legislative Elections in Argentina

Abstract

The personalization of politics and a voting mechanism based on party-group ballots (Indiana type) enhanced the voting power of an elite group of “popular candidates” that have the capacity of electoral traction to their parties. And the 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution created a new electoral cycle of general and mid-term elections. Together, they were the conditions for the emergence of a new behavioral pattern: the successful «heads of lists» give up their seats early to «leapfrog» into another electoral race, usually the next executive election to come. They do so to benefit their political careers or protect the interest of their parties. The paroxysm of this behavior is the so-called “testimonial candidate”, who gives up before even taking the seat. Changing patterns and their consolidation through time trigger a particular political culture that causes a conflict with the formal electoral institution and its original spirit. However, this electoral “Executivism” has a Parliamentarian flavor, given the intertwining between Executive and Legislative electoral processes.