Argentina to hold early elections

Duhalde is under public pressure to resign

Argentina's caretaker president has brought forward next year's election by six months, saying the country needs an elected government to carry out reforms.

Eduardo Duhalde was appointed president by parliament in January in a bid to fill the gap left by the resignation of Fernando de la Rua amid social unrest.

He had been due to hold the post until September 2003 but has now called the new presidential election for March.

It was up to parliament to decide if a general and other elections were also held, he added.

Financial pressures

Mr Duhalde has been under pressure over his economic policies, which included a devaluation of the peso, decimating people's savings.

He has been struggling to obtain credit of $18bn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to meet Argentina's national debt.

An official said to be close to the president told the French news agency AFP that he took the decision to bring forward the election because of delays over the IMF credit, which is dependent on signing an agreement with Argentina's regional governors.

"He's had enough," said the official, who did not want to be named.

Bread line nation

Argentine protesters have been demanding the resignation of Mr Duhalde and other officials, accusing them of incompetence and corruption.

The president's popularity has dropped to 8% in opinion polls.

Argentina, a nation of 29 million, has been buffeted by economic woes.

Half the population live in poverty with 24% of the work force out of a job and even those in employment find it hard to afford staple goods.