A government spokesman for Argentine President Nestor Kirchner says he will not seek re-election, and his wife will run instead as the ruling coalition's presidential candidate.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who is a prominent senator in the Peronist coalition, is expected to formally announce her candidacy for the October presidential elections later this month (July 19th).

She and her husband have been considered frontrunners for the presidency, but for several months they have refused to say if either of them would run.

The president has not said why he is not seeking re-election. He is a popular leader credited with improving Argentina's economy in the last several years.