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Democracy in the Balance in Peru Vote

On April 9, Peruvians went to the polls to elect a new president and Congress. The political climate was tense, given accusations that the governing party had engaged in a campaign to discredit opposition candidates and influence the voting process. Controversy also continued over the constitutionality of President Alberto Fujimori’s decision to run for a third consecutive term.

Despite the strained atmosphere, Peruvians turned out in large numbers to vote, showing their commitment to the democratic elections process. Before the votes were even counted, however, the Organization of American States (OAS) had reported an unexplained delay in reporting the results, and opposition parties denounced such irregularities as forged signatures, the use of state funds in Fujimori’s campaign and ballot tampering. These allegations have grave implications for Peru’s electoral system and the future of democracy in that country.

Three weeks after the elections, Peru’s electoral authorities finally reported the results: 49.87% for Fujimori and 40.24% for his main challenger, Alejandro Toledo. Neither candidate obtained a simple majority, necessitating a second round of voting. The long delay in counting and tabulating the votes contributed to many observers’ doubts of the fairness of the elections. This skepticism was fueled by a Transparency International study that supported allegations of unequal access to the media by Peru’s competing parties. According to the study, in the first three weeks of March Fujimori enjoyed 9 hours and 25 minutes of television coverage, compared to 1 hour and 54 minutes for Toledo. The discrepancy was even greater when it came to political advertising on TV. The Carter Foundation has also criticized the legally questionable closure of Radio 1160, a radio station that broadcast independent political commentaries.

The climate in Peru remains tense as the May 28 runoff elections approach. The OAS has warned that it will not sanction the results if the irregularities of the first round of voting are repeated. To date, the government has failed to provide convincing guarantees of fairness, beyond the creation of task forces to train the personnel staffing the polling places and processing the vote count.

Peru’s Ombudsman, Jorge Santistevan de Noriega, has complained that 30 days are not enough time to implement the changes necessary to ensure a fair vote. Toledo has told the Council of the Americas that he will withdraw from the second round if irregularities persist. “If Fujimori is re-elected under the same conditions,” he said, “he will lose both national and international legitimacy. This will have a negative effect on foreign investment, growth and poverty.”