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OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Peru Highlights Improvements in Electoral Process

The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organization of American States (OAS) that followed the general elections in Peru last April 10 today noted improvements in the electoral process of the South American country and made recommendations in a report presented before the OAS Permanent Council by its Chief of Mission, Dante Caputo.

Among the problems that were addressed by Peruvian electoral authorities since the last elections in 2010, the Chief of Mission of the OAS highlighted how quickly after the voting the results were announced and information was related to the public, which reduced tensions and uncertainty among the population. He also offered recommendations regarding procedural technical issues, such as delays in the setup of voting tables, and made observations about controlling political party financing and its origins. In general, Caputo highlighted the “very refined” work of the OAS observation team and the “great cooperation” provided by Peruvian authorities, and added that “of the missions I have personally had the pleasure of observing as Chief of Mission, without a doubt this case stood out the most for the appropriate and adequate functioning of the election process.”

On the announcement of the results, the Chief of the EOM in Peru remarked that “there are still efforts to be made but it is important to note that we have made much important progress on this, one of the basic recommendations made in previous observation missions, in 2006 as well as in 2010, by the OAS in Peru.” Nevertheless, he continued, “some significant uncertainties” were generated from the time the publication of results began around the question of who would occupy second place for the following round of voting. And, in this sense, he highlighted the “exceptional behavior of the Peruvian political parties and candidates” characterized by the absence of tensions and by “a restraint and prudence that in other cases do not exist and that allowed this obstacle to be overcome very well.”

Regarding the makeup of the voting tables, the former Argentine foreign minister noted that “a commonality was the delay in the opening of the tables, and later the other factor of concern was that the tables were not constituted by the previously designated authorities,” but rather people who were in line to vote were asked to substitute for those authorities, without prior preparation for the task they were asked to fulfill. This occurred “in a high percentage” of tables, which “has an impact on the way in which the process took place,” the Chief of Mission said.

On the control of political party financing and its origins, Caputo recalled that “it is important that political parties have public financing to cover the costs of campaigning,” since the problem of control and origin of said financing “continues to be a serious problem” in the South American country “as well as in other places.” He said in this regard that “inadequate financing tends to have immense consequences on how candidates are elected, the equality of conditions for competing, and how governance takes place.”

Caputo thanked Secretary General José Miguel Insulza for “the lessons we all took beyond the task we fulfilled,” and he thanked the governments of Canada, Spain, the United States and Argentina for financing the EOM in Peru during the already mentioned elections and the presidential elections to take place June 5. He also said the government of France has committed to contributing financially to the EOM during the second presidential round.

For his part, the Permanent Representative of Peru to the OAS, Ambassador Hugo de Zela, thanked the work of the EOM in his country and the contributions that provided financing, and remarked that the report presented by Mission Chief Caputo “shows that there is a significant improvement in the organization and development of the process as compared with the municipal and regional elections of 2010,” which “also proves that observations are useful in improving certain aspects of the electoral process.” He further reiterated that the observations made in the report “have not at any time questioned the cleanliness and impartiality of the process,” and that the success of the elections “shows there is a growing political maturity in my country, of which we of course are very happy.”

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-674/11