Argentina's opposition Peronist party wins election in Buenos Aires province

By Jorge Otaola

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's opposition Peronist party triumphed on Sunday in legislative elections in the key province of Buenos Aires, leaving President Javier Milei's ruling party in a distant second place, the provisional official tally showed.

Center-left candidate Axel Kicillof, governor of Buenos Aires Province and a member of the Justicialist Party, managed to pull ahead of Milei's Libertarian Party in the elections. 

Based on provisional official counts, the Peronists won 46.8% of the vote across the province, while the candidate of Milei's party took 33.8%, with 82.2% of the votes counted.

Milei has been facing increasing pressure over a bribery scandal and growing unease over public spending as he enters a pivotal election season that could define his government's grip on power.

(Reporting by Jorge Otaola; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Kim Coghill and Paul Simao)