Buenos Aires  - Argentina's centre-left President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Monday that she was willing to seek a consensus for the sake of governance, hours after the ruling party suffered a severe electoral defeat, losing its majority in both chambers of Congress.

"Achieving governability is going to require consensus exercises," Fernandez de Kirchner said at a press conference in Buenos Aires.

She warned, however, that this was not entirely up to the government. "When you do not have a majority, consensus building also depends on the other parties."

She ruled out a major cabinet reshuffle, despite the long- anticipated resignation of Health Minister Graciela Ocana.

Earlier Monday, Fernandez de Kirchner's husband and predecessor Nestor Kirchner resigned as head of the FJPV Peronist Front for Victory party after the couple suffered a huge defeat in midterm legislative elections.

Nestor Kirchner, who was president from 2003 to 2007, stepped aside after coming second in the legislative elections in the ruling party stronghold of Buenos Aires province, which is the region around - but not including - the capital.

The former president asked the governor of Buenos Aires province, Daniel Scioli, to take over the post, according to the state news agency Telam.

The left wing of the Peronist movement represented by the power couple suffered massive losses Sunday, with the ruling party dropping from 45 per cent of the national vote in the 2007 presidential election to 30 per cent on Sunday.

Like her husband, Fernandez de Kirchner accepted defeat, but claimed it was "by a very small difference." However, the ruling party lost in all major constituencies across the country.

"We have been in government for six years, and that of course entails a wear-out process," she said.

Fernandez de Kirchner's mandate is to end in 2011. (dpa)