Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) - Argentine President Javier Milei hailed his party’s runaway victory in Sunday’s midterm elections as a “turning point” for the country and vowed to charge ahead with his agenda of shrinking the state and deregulating the economy.

Milei’s La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party rebounded from a series of setbacks to win 40.7 percent of the votes cast for members of Congress, far outpacing the opposition in an election closely watched by jittery investors.

“Today we reached a turning point. Today begins the construction of a great Argentina,” the 55-year-old president told supporters at a victory party in Buenos Aires.

He promised to continue on the reform path with what he predicted would be “the most reformist Congress in Argentina’s history.”

US President Donald Trump, a close ally, congratulated Milei, whom he said “had a lot of help from us”.

Half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one-third of the Senate seats were up for grabs on Sunday.

Milei said LLA had more than tripled its seat count, winning 101 seats in the lower house Chamber of Deputies, up from 37, and 20 seats in the Senate, up from six.

The number of seats still needs to be confirmed by the final vote count this week.

- Trump’s ‘very strong endorsement’ -

The center-left Peronist movement, in power for much of Argentina’s post-war history, trailed in second place with 31.7 percent.

The National Election Commission has tallied 98.9 percent of polling stations so far.

Axel Kicillof, the governor of Buenos Aires Province and Milei’s political nemesis, said it was necessary to “redouble efforts to take care of the people.”

“Milei is wrong if he celebrates this election result where six out of 10 Argentines have said that they don’t agree with the model he’s proposing,” Kicillof wrote on X.

The elections were the first national test of Milei’s support since he won office two years ago on a promise to revive the long-ailing Argentine economy through a series of painful reforms.

The run-up to the vote was marked by a run on the national currency, the peso, which forced Milei to seek a bailout from Trump.

Washington promised an unprecedented $40 billion aid package, but the assistance came with a warning from Trump to Argentines that he would not “be generous” if the election did not go Milei’s way.

“That was a big win in Argentina,” Trump said aboard Air Force One. “I gave him an endorsement, (a) very strong endorsement.”

At the LLA election party, hundreds of Milei’s supporters celebrated with cheers, hugs, chants and even tears.

“I’m very happy and excited; I didn’t expect such a large number,” Facundo Campos, a 38-year-old marketing consultant, told AFP.

- Turnout at four-decade low -

Ahead of the election, several Milei voters had spoken to AFP about their disappointment with his leadership, particularly the corruption scandals involving members of his inner circle.

But they remained viscerally opposed to the Peronist movement, whose figurehead, former president Cristina Kirchner, is under house arrest after being convicted of corruption.

At 67.9 percent, turnout was the lowest in a national election in four decades, reflecting disillusionment with the entire political class.

Adriana Cotoneo, a 69-year-old pensioner voting in Buenos Aires, told AFP she backed Milei’s party “not because I believe it’s the best option, but because I’m clear about who I want to be gone.”

Former TV pundit Milei has cut tens of thousands of public sector jobs, frozen public works, cut spending on health, education and pensions and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023.

His reforms were blamed for initially plunging millions of Argentines deeper into poverty. They did however, slow inflation by two-thirds – to the relief of many – although at the expense of faltering economic growth, consumption and manufacturing.

Investors began dumping the Argentine peso last month amid concerns over the economy and support for Milei.

The US Treasury has intervened several times in the market in recent weeks, buying up pesos to help keep it afloat.

Ahead of the election, expectations were high that the government could depreciate or devalue the peso, immediately after the vote.

But Economy Minister Luis Caputo on Sunday ruled out such a step.