Elections in Peru: lack of table authorities …

In this context of fear due to the advance of the pandemic, there were problems installing the polling tables due to the absence of many citizens selected as members of the polling stations. The biggest problems arose in Lima. To avoid crowds, authorities extended voting hours from eight to twelve – from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.– and increased the voting centers from five thousand to over eleven thousand. But due to the delay in setting up tables, long queues began to form, amid chaos and protests from voters.

The most affected were the elderly who, by decision of the electoral authorities, had to vote first, between seven and nine in the morning, but when they arrived to vote, many found their tables without settling down and had to vote. had to wait, in many cases several hours, exposed to contagion and strong sunlight, until their tables are open for voting. As a vulnerable population, they could not be chosen to serve as council members. At nine in the morning, 30% of the tables were not open. In the afternoon, the authorities assured that 99% of the tables had already been set up.

President Francisco Sagasti, who went to vote very early and found that his table was the only one open of the five seated in this polling station, the electoral authorities and the candidates called early on the young people to come to the tables. take responsibility for installing them and summoning the population to vote. At present, there is no data on the level of voter absenteeism. In Peru, voting is compulsory until the age of 70.

“I’ve been here since 7:30 am, I’m 71 and don’t have to vote, but I came to do civic duty and they make me wait in the sun for about three hours. There are so many of us. I was informed that my table was only set up recently, that the table members did not come and that they had to put other people. It’s very disorganized, something like this has never happened before, ”he said. PageI12 Fernando Herrera, who was waiting his turn to vote with dozens of other people.

A woman in charge of setting up a voting table denounced via social networks having found in the amphora votes already marked in favor of Keiko Fujimori. A similar complaint was posted online by a voter who voted in Miami. There are just over 860,000 Peruvians authorized to vote abroad. In the United States there are 310 thousand. Argentina concentrates the third community of Peruvian voters abroad, after the United States and Spain (152,000 voters), with 143,000 registered voters.