Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Elections 2006 | 12 June, 2006 [ 19:06 ]

ONPE and the crux of keeping promises

The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) has a hard time of keeping its promises, not only for the first round results but also for the second round.
Before and after the election on June 4th they promised to deliver the official 100% during the weekend, which ame and passed. I don't mean to nit-pick, but its Monday now and the official results are still at 99.992% of counted votes. Perhaps we should all give them a round of applause for their hard work. Considering Peru's current election laws and lack of domestic infrastructure this must truly be a challenging undertaking.

So here is the 'almost' official result:

Alan Garcia (APRA):    52.624% (or 6,964,607 votes)
Ollanta Humala (UPP: 47.376 % (or 6,269,959 votes)

blank votes: 1.091% (157,848)
null votes : 7.431% (1,075,003)




tags : Peru election2006 Humala Garcia results

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Elections 2006 | 9 June, 2006 [ 11:34 ]

O.A.S. observers call election 'calm, orderly and transparent'

Peru's June 4 presidential runoff election was "calm, orderly and transparent," according to an electoral mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) that observed the voting.

In a June 6 statement, the OAS observation mission said Peru's electoral institutions demonstrated "their commitment to ensuring an electoral process that is secure and trustworthy." The mission said the successful elections in Peru legitimized the electoral reforms that have taken place in Peru since its 2001 presidential election and have "created an opportunity to consolidate this progress as a platform to build a more inclusive political system."

The mission congratulated both candidates in the race -- Alan Garcia, who won the vote, and the runner-up, Ollanta Humala, for his "performance in the election and acceptance of the results." The mission said that even though Garcia won convincingly, the new president will have an opportunity "to reach out across the divisions" in Peru "that were made apparent during this election."

The mission added that although Humala did not win the election, "we encourage him to utilize the commitment of his supporters in developing constructive opposition for the benefit of all Peruvians."

The mission said it deployed 123 observers throughout Peru for the second-round election. In the first round of voting April 9, Humala finished first in a field of 20 candidates, while Garcia finished second. A second round was held because no candidate in the April election won more than half of the total vote needed to avoid a run-off.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said June 5 that the United States congratulated the Peruvian people "on what would seem to be an open election free of violence." McCormack said the United States had not heard any serious reports of electoral irregularities, "so this is an important moment for the Peruvian people."

McCormack said the United States will have an assessment of how Peru’s election was conducted on "whether or not it was free and fair." The spokesman said the results of the election were “up to the Peruvian people and we will respect whatever results the Peruvian people express through the ballot box."

The United States previously commended Peruvians on their commitment to democracy while withholding comment on the country's presidential candidates.

In a May 10 interview, a State Department official said the United States and Peru "share values and key strategic interests on many issues, including our commitment to democracy and a free press, the fight against terrorism and narco-trafficking, poverty eradication, development through long-term economic liberalization, and international cooperation. We are prepared to work closely with any elected Peruvian president who shares our interests and values in these areas."

tags : Peru election2006 politics Humala Garcia

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Elections 2006 | 9 June, 2006 [ 11:29 ]

Today's international press review

Garcia sees Chile as his economic example (by Kelly Hearn, Washington Times)

Peru's newly elected president will model his economic policies after those in neighboring Chile, a pro-market government that has pursued U.S.-backed economic policies and close trade ties with Washington.
Alan Garcia, a former president who opposed pro-market policies during his first administration, told the local press that Chile is his model because it "is vigorous and energetically open to the world and works from the state and not from subsidies to reduce poverty."

read more

Why Garcia won the presidency (by Beatrice E. Rangel, Miami Herald)



Peru President-Elect Backs Free Markets (by Frank Bayak, AP/Washington Post)


The Return Of Alan Garcia (by John Crabtree, OpenDemocracy)


Peru's President-Elect Faces Tough Road (by Rick Vecchio, AP, Los Angeles Times)

Urban Peruvians were willing to give Alan Garcia a chance to atone for his catastrophic first presidency in last weekend's election runoff, fearful of handing the country to his nationalist opponent.

Now the president-elect's challenge is to win over what he has acknowledged is the other Peru: the long-neglected southern and central highlands, where Quechua-speaking Indians and mixed-race mestizos voted overwhelmingly against him.

read more

Humala to lead Peru's opposition (BBC News)

The losing candidate in Peru's election, Ollanta Humala, has vowed to lead the opposition against the President-elect, Alan Garcia.

Mr Humala said he would form "the principal opposition bloc".

read more

tags : Peru politics election2006 foreignpress Humala Garcia

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Elections 2006 | 9 June, 2006 [ 11:00 ]

Official results after 99.717% of votes processed

ONPE's latest update after 99.717% of votes have been processed:

Alan Garcia: 52.594%
Ollanta Humala: 47.406%

Garcia received 6,948,957 votes and Humala 6,263,526.

Blank votes: 157,319 (1.090%)
Null votes: 1,068,093 (7.398%)




tags : Peru election2006 Humala Garcia politics results

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Elections 2006 | 8 June, 2006 [ 11:06 ]

O.A.S election observers satisfied

Lloyd Axworthy, the mission leader of O.A.S. observers, said yesterday that he was satisfied with the overall process, but also had several recommendations.
According to his preliminary report, the second electoral round (including the days before and after June 4) was carried out in a climate of calm, order and transparency.

However, Axworthy recommended that for the upcoming regional and municipal elections the coordination between the electoral bodies should be improved so that the presentation/publishing of first results happens faster and also to increase safety measures, because pressures could appear. Nevertheless, he emphasized that the ONPE has improved their times in the second round compared to the first.

He specifically lauded the Electoral Ethical Pact, signed by the participants of all  political groupings, which should be imitated in other countries.
Also, although the O.A.S. welcomed the massive participation of the electorate, he suggested to reduce the barriers of transport, education and information among Peruvians living in the countryside. Axworthy mentioned that the next government should establish mechanisms like voting in advance.

The mission leader congratulated both candidates, winner Alan Garcia and runner-up Ollanta Humala. He recommended to “to build bridges to surpass the divisions that were pronounced during these elections” and also “to develop a constructive opposition for the benefit of all Peruvians”.

In addition, his report mentions the necessity of a greater rigor as far as the control of financing of the campaigns and the avoidance of partiality by some official and the mass media.

The report also mentions the inconvenience of the Peruvian public opinion caused by  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez' interferences during the electoral process. However, Axworthy doesn't think that they had much influence on the voters choice. He discarded that there have been indications of fraud and showed respect for Ollanta Humala's preference to wait for the final 100% results of the ONPE before accepting his defeat.



tags : Peru election2006 politics Humala Garcia result OAS Axworthy observers report

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Elections 2006 | 8 June, 2006 [ 10:28 ]

Official results after 98.95% of votes processed

ONPE's latest update at 98.95% of counted votes:

Alan Garcia: 52.54%
Ollanta Humala: 47.46%

Garcia received 6,900,398 votes and Humala 6.232.474.

Blank votes: 156,376 (1.091%)
Null votes: 1,049,621 (7.320%)

975 opposed/challenged votes are pending resolution.

The total number of emitted votes is 14,339.844.

Another important data is that more than 90% of the electoral population went to the ballot boxes. The blank or nullified votes (8.4%) have reduced to almost half, compared to the first round (16%).

Final 100% results are expected for this weekend.


tags : Peru election2006 politics Humala Garcia result

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Elections 2006 | 7 June, 2006 [ 10:17 ]

'Union por el Peru' coalition may split up

The founder and chairman of the party that lent its banner to nationalist Ollanta Humala for his failed presidential bid said Tuesday that the unsuccessful hopeful no longer leads the Union por el Peru, or UPP.

“Ollanta is no longer leader of our party, as people continue to say out there. Ollanta is a citizen just like all of us. UPP has its own, totally autonomous officials" Aldo Estrada is quoted by Andina news agency.
Estrada, who founded the UPP in 1995 along with veteran Peruvian diplomat and former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, said that the electoral "alliance will be reviewed".
"We will talk with Humala to let him know categorically under which scenarios the political integration can continue, but if Humala says no, the alliance comes to an end”.
Estrada said UPP will hold an assembly June 17 to vote on whether to maintain the coalition with Humala's nationalist followers. If the alliance dissolves, the UPP will form an independent congressional bloc of 19 members, Estrada said.

Humala ran under the UPP banner in the election because his own Nationalist Party did not meet the registration deadline.
The arrangement also benefited UPP, rescuing the party from political oblivion and enabling it to gain 45 of the 120 seats in Congress in the first round of balloting on April 9, enough to enjoy a plurality in the legislature.
But 26 of those seats were won by Humala supporters who would presumably remain loyal to him if the nationalist alliance with the UPP breaks down, hence Estrada's talk of a 19-member contingent.

The other big blocs in Congress will be those of Garcia's APRA, with 36 seats; the conservative Unidad Nacional, with 17; and the Alliance for the Future, whose 13 members are partisans of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori. Three smaller parties hold a total of nine seats.

Estrada said Tuesday that the UPP is not interested in constituting a "stubborn and unhealthy" opposition to the future Garcia administration, words that are sure to be welcomed by the elected president.

After Estrada made his comments, Ollanta Humala responded and assured that the alliance of UPP and the Humalistas is “more solid than ever”.
“The unit of the nationalistic project is solid (...) we stay solid. We want to send the victory message to all our supporters because we have changed the national political landscape”, Humala declared.

After meeting with leaders and elected legislators of UPP, Humala emphasized that they have gained a majority in more than 15 departments or regions of the country.
“That implies the expectations of more than six million Peruvians that have voted for our project in this runoff. We are the leading political force in the country and we are evaluating to open the doors to a popular democratic nationalistic front”.



tags : Peru election2006 politics Humala opposition congress

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Elections 2006 | 6 June, 2006 [ 12:58 ]

Official results after 97.173% of votes processed

Alan Garcia (APRA): 52.577 %
Ollanta Humala (UPP): 47.423 %

Garcia's lead is now 666,266. There are 472,378 uncounted votes plus 2,237 challenged votes. So it is now a mathematical certainty that Alan García is Peru's (old and) new president.

You can download this pdf document which details the current results by region/departmentos and the districts of Lima Metropolitan.

For comparison, we have included the summary of the first round in roughly the same format (also using percentage of total votes, not valid votes).

You can download this pdf document here.

(thanks to rici for compiling and providing these docs.)


tags : Peru election2006 results Garcia Humala politics

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Elections 2006 | 5 June, 2006 [ 15:44 ]

Garcia's cabinet may include ex-candidates

The Secretary General of APRA and re-elected congressman, Mauricio Mulder,  maintained this morning that even an ex-presidential candidate could be summoned to assume the presidency of the Cabinet in the next aprista government.

“For the Peruvian Aprista Party no one is dismissable, not even the ex-presidential candidates, to assume the presidency of the Cabinet. This is a discussion in our group which will begin today”, he emphasized in declarations with Andina news agency.

"The idea is to consolidate a ministerial cabinet with 50 % Apristas and the other 50 % with representatives of the various political forces, even of Union Por El Peru (UPP)”, he added.
Mulder indicated that other independent personalities will also be summoned to hold a public position according to his political trajectory and good reputation.

tags : Peru election2006 politics government

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Elections 2006 | 5 June, 2006 [ 14:17 ]

JNE promises to resolve objected ballots within 48 hours

The National Election Jury (JNE) announced that it will resolve 1,800 acts that were opposed or questioned during the second electoral round within 48 hours.
This confirmation was made by the JNE president, Enrique Mendoza Ramirez.

The electoral authority affirmed that this number of opposed acts is “nothing” in comparison with the 64,000 from the first round.



tags : Peru election2006 Humala Garcia results politics

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