ELECTORAL OBSERVATION REPORT
Lima, Peru 10
April 2001
Final
results of the April 8th election (first-round)
On April 8, 2001, an
eight-member CommonBorders delegation from Victoria, Canada observed the
general elections in Peru. CommonBorders
was invited by Transparencia, A.C. to observe the elections.
The delegation was present in three locations across the country on
election day: Huancayo, Huaraz
and Lima. The following report
presents the group`s principal findings.
Summary
CommonBorders´ general
conclusion from its observations in Huancayo, Huaraz and Lima is that the
April 8th general elections were a successful demonstration of
cleanness and transparency. The
Peruvian electorate is to be congratulated for its democratic participation.
The Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE) and Jurado Nacional
Electoral (JNE), as well as Transparencia and its 21,674 volunteers, are to be
commended for effectively facilitating the orderly and peaceful conduct of the
day´s proceedings. In light of
the problematic elections of May 28th, 2000, the general elections
of April 8th were an important advance in Peru´s democratic
consolidation, both in terms of electoral process and democratic citizenship.
Based on their own
observations as well as comments solicited from Transparencia volunteers in
Huancayo, Huaraz and Lima, CommonBorders´ concerns must be understood in the
context of elections that were unanticipated and the first time that
significant recent electoral reforms were put into actions.
1.
CommonBorders´ main concern was significant instances of confusion
throughout election day. Four
main forms of confusion were identified:
·
During the installation phase of the voting
stations (mesa de sufragio);
·
Among voters in terms of locating their voting
stations;
·
Difficulty in differentiating voting station
members (miembros de mesa) from
political party members (personeros
politicos); and
·
During the vote count (escrutinio).
The incidences of
confusion were fuelled by at least seven sources:
·
Unevenly attended and often inadequate training
by the ONPE of voting stations members (miembros de mesa);
·
A significant rate of absenteeism among original
voting station members;
·
The late arrival of many voting station members;
·
An installation time (half hour: 7:30 – 8:00
am) that was clearly inadequate for installing voting stations on time;
·
Excessively large voting centres, often of more
than 70 voting stations;
·
Voting station members who often attempted to
execute the electoral process without properly consulting their manuals; and
·
Lack of understanding of the counting method for
preferential, congressional votes.
In the interest of
preventing confusion in future elections, we recommend:
·
Improved, more co-ordinated and better attended
training for voting station members (miembros de mesa);
·
More time for the installation phase: from 7:00
– 8:00 am, instead of the present 7:30 am commencement;
·
Where possible in infrastructural terms, a
deconcentration of voting centres to avoid excessive congestion;
·
Identification badges for voting station members
and political party representatives (personeros politicos); and
·
Insistence that voting station members (miembros
de mesa) follow their manual throughout the entire election day process.
2.
The prompt destruction of ballots following the vote count phase (escrutinio)
was of concern.
3.
The confusion often present among both voting station members and
political party representatives (personeros
politicos) when it came to counting congressional votes.
CommonBorders delegates witnessed several instances where congressional
votes were counted incorrectly. The
destruction of ballots prevents future recounts of congressional votes that
were incorrectly counted.
4.
Some voting stations within buildings of more than one floor suffered
from access problems for physically challenged voters.
Additional efforts must be made to improve access for these voters.
5.
For Transparencia´s future election day coverage, report on the quality of
election day (informacion cualitativa) should include the vote count or
escrutinio phase. CommonBorders´delegates observed particular problems
of confusion during this phase. Transparencia´s 3:00 pm press
conference and report on the quality of election day did not cover the
escrutinio phase.
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