At a press conference today, the Together for Peru party, led by candidate Roberto Sánchez, alerted the public to the serious irregularities in the electoral process and stated that the “votes cast abroad were not safeguarded.” While 99.4% of the votes have been counted and candidate Keiko Fujimori continues to lead in the overseas vote, there are irregularities that must be made known to the public, investigated, and explained by the relevant authorities.
Changes in the Runoff
Roy Mendoza, a lawyer for Juntos por el Perú, questioned the fact that “seven days before the election, consuls abroad were ordered not to digitize or scan the vote tally sheets.”
He also asked, “What prompted the retention of the ballots in several countries? For example, in the case of Buenos Aires, where we have filed a motion to annul the results for 294 polling stations. Buenos Aires is just four hours from Lima, with nine daily flights—so why were the ballots held until 10 p.m.?” he said.
Furthermore, the ONPE irregularly approved, for the second round, that physical materials be sent via diplomatic pouch “and other means,” which allowed electoral materials to be transported without the security measures stipulated by the Vienna Convention—which requires inviolability, restricted access, and a guarantee of transparency for the transport of votes, with diplomatic pouches properly sealed and stamped.
The changes to the process also include “allowing consular officials to serve on the polling boards if polling board members were to abandon their duties.”
“Therefore, we consider these to be serious irregularities that justify our petition for annulment. That is why, starting tomorrow, we will be participating in the hearings scheduled not only by the National Elections Board (JNE) regarding the annulment petitions but also concerning the contested election records,” Mendoza stated.
Overseas Votes Were Not Preserved
For his part, attorney Marco Zevallos stated that “what we are challenging is not the right of Peruvian men and women to cast their votes outside the country; what we are challenging is that the authorities—the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Election Office (ONPE), and the consulates—who had the obligation to ensure that those votes were preserved, have failed to fulfill their responsibility—and we must not forget that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is part of the parliamentary government, which we know is led by Ms. K.”
“The ONPE has informed us that, at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it ordered one week before the runoff election that no vote tally sheets be scanned. Is it legitimate for us to have serious doubts about the entire voting process that took place outside the country? Especially since that ONPE directive was limited solely to the voting by Peruvians abroad. It is legitimate for these doubts to exist,” asserted the member of the legal team.
Defense of the Popular Vote
Also present at the press conference were Luzmila Ayay, treasurer of Juntos por el Perú; Analí Márquez, candidate for first vice president; and Brigida Curo, candidate for second vice president.
Luzmila Ayay explained how the solidarity contributions the party received from the public were used to file appeals seeking the annulment of polling stations. Thanks to these solidarity contributions, “it was possible to uphold the defense of the popular vote by filing appeals seeking the annulment of polling stations in Metropolitan Lima and in the United States, resulting in the acceptance of the first appeal for the annulment of 1,751 polling stations in Lima.”
Ayay emphasized: “The total amount raised amounts to S/787,599.00, funds that enabled the purchase of 744 filing fees to support the appeals filed in defense of the will of the people.” The bank accounts and Yape digital wallet used for the fundraising campaign will be made available to the ONPE and will be closed under notarial supervision.
Peaceful March This Friday, the 19th
For his part, the presidential candidate for Juntos por el Perú, Roberto Sánchez, stated: “Changing the rules of the game by relaxing the chain of custody, with excessive delays in transport—allegedly not even in diplomatic or consular bags, but rather as ordinary consolidated cargo. We demand respect and transparency, because this process is not over.”
He also announced that “tomorrow, Friday, there will be a day of protest demanding electoral justice, transparency, and recognition of the people’s victory. This is not over; they have attempted to disregard—in due process—appeals that have ultimately been admitted, and several hearings on these cases are scheduled for the coming days,” he concluded.