Argentina’s Supreme Court has upheld a six-year prison sentence against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the polarizing former president and one of the country’s most influential politicians, barring her from public office for life.

Argentina's supreme court has effectively banned former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner from government, a move that poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the opposition Peronist party ahead of crunch midterm elections this year.

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner must serve her six-year prison sentence for a corruption conviction, the nation's Supreme Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday.