Elections in Peru: after a day marked by delays and long queues, polling stations closed

After 7 p.m. local time, voting centers in Peru closed after an election day marked by the coronavirus pandemic, and monitoring began. While awaiting the first reports from the electoral authorities, There are high expectations for the official results, as the polls have shown a multiple technical tie.

Pedro Castillo, candidate of the left wing Free peru, leads the ballot box in the first round of the presidential election this Sunday with the 16.1% of the vote, according to the survey published by America TV / Ipsos Peru.

Hernando de Soto, economist and former advisor to Alberto Fujimori, candidate of Avanza País, and Keiko Fujimori, of Fuerza Popular, they are in second place with 11.9% of the vote. Yonhy lescano, from Acción Popular, is in third place with 11% of the vote.

“Whatever the outcome […]We will respect it, ”said De Soto, the first to vote.

Similar statements were made by Lescano, Castillo, Mendoza and Keiko.

“My invocation is that we all collaborate patiently and prioritize democracy, which is the most important,” Mendoza said. As Keiko urged, hours before the vote, “Respect with great caution and serenity” the results of the vote.

As there is a statistical link between them, it is “the most fractional election in history”, according to poll manager Ipsos Peru, Alfredo Torres.

The electoral office (ONPE) has promised to release the first partial official results around 11:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. GMT Monday), but parliamentary scrutiny could take a few days.

Whatever the result of this Sunday, it is clear that those who will pass to the second round will have meager citizen support, which will limit the legitimacy of the president who will be finally elected. Thus, the scenario is not very encouraging for finding a way out of the serious political crisis that the country has been going through since 2016 and which resulted in the fall of three presidents and the dissolution of Congress.

Despite attempts by electoral authorities to take extreme measures in Sunday’s presidential elections, the day was also marked byr long queues, crowds and problems with setting up voting tables in different cities.

Most of the delays in opening polling stations were due to the absence of polling station members.

The situation became even more complicated because, precisely because of the health security protocols due to the coronavirus pandemic, Peruvian authorities summoned the elderly, the disabled and pregnant women to vote early in the morning. Exempt from participating in tables.

Several voters had to wait hours before voting.

All voters had to go to their voting tables, which were set up for the first time in outdoor areas to avoid crowds, wear a mask and face shield, and preferably, they should carry their own pen to mark the ballot and thus avoid contact as much as possible.

More than 25 million Peruvians were called to vote to elect the new president for the period 2021-2026, two vice-presidents, 130 lawmakers and five representatives in Parliament.

A total of 86,488 polling stations were deployed nationwide to receive voters until 7 p.m. today, an extended schedule compared to usual in Peruvian elections due to the covid-19 pandemic.

More than 60,000 police officers have been deployed across the country to guard polling stations, maintain public order and ensure voters maintain a social distance of at least one and a half meters.

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