Elections in Peru: long queues, crowds and difficulty setting up voting tables

Despite attempts by the electoral authorities to take extreme health measures during the presidential elections this Sunday in Peru, In the early hours of the day, there were long lines, crowds and problems setting up voting tables in different cities.

According to data from the National Organization for Electoral Processes (ONPE), after two hours of voting, only 70% of the voting tables had opened. Although the day started calmly, there were numerous reports of the delay in opening the polling centers.

Most of these delays were due in the absence of council 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.

Elsa Castilla, an elderly voter with a disability, told the agency EFE who “stood in line” for more than two hours and denounced that ONPE officials told them to “look for volunteers” to open the tables or to leave without voting.

“The table cannot be set up, there is only one volunteer. The headlines have failed and all gentlemen in line are invited to volunteer and no one wants to. And the law says that until there are three members of the board of directors, elections cannot take place, ”he added. Luis Pilfo, observer of a political party at a table in the populated neighborhood of Villa María del Triunfo.

Long queues and crowds were recorded at the voting table in the ecological park in the neighborhood of San Martín de Porres. According to the local press, Due to the delay in voting at this polling center, people stopped respecting the line and began to get in a mess, amid shouting and shoving, resulting in a large built-up area.

For this reason, the local authorities decided to shut it down for ten minutes. However, people kept arriving and a queue of at least five blocks formed.

“A lot of people, there is nothing orderly. Everyone gets involved. Three rows were made and everyone got down to it. These from 6.30 am “, expressed Daniel Calderon Navarro, who should vote in this place, to the local environment RPP.

The Peruvian Ombudsman’s Office reported on its social networks that following its recommendation, the ONPE was able to provide chairs to the elderly, who were outside the IE Barbara D’Achille school, in San Martín de Porres.

For its part, at the municipal stadium of Chorrillos, all the tables were finished after 10 am. 40% of the members of the table are volunteers who approached due to the absence of incumbents and replacements. It also resulted in long queues and delays.

The same problem was reported at Mayta Capac School, located in Cayma District, Arequipa, where dozens of elderly people arrived early in the morning and, despite this, they had to wait several hours due to the lack of table members. “We have been since 6 am and I have not had breakfast,” a voter told the newspaper. Trade.

Faced with the indignation of the population and constant complaints from voters on social networks, the Mediator, Walter Gutierrez, acknowledged that “the objective of the National Office of Electoral Processes to provide facilities for the elderly has not worked properly”. “The goal of providing facilities for people aged 7 to 9 to vote has not worked properly and this is an issue that will need to be rethought for the second round,” he told the RPP.

In this sense, Gutiérrez urged young citizens to get closer to the polling centers and to volunteer to speed up the voting process.

All voters must go to their voting tables, 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 are called to vote to elect the new president for the period 2021-2026, two vice-presidents, 130 legislators and five representatives in Parliament.

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

Citizens between the ages of 18 and 70 are forced to vote on that day, otherwise they must pay a fine ranging from 22 to 88 ($ 6 to $ 24), depending on where they live.

With information from EFE, RPP and El Comercio

KEEP READING: