Peru’s electoral process takes a turn for the absurd
Peru’s presidential electoral campaign is descending into farce. With just one month to go until polling day the electoral authorities, normally discreet arbiters of an electoral process, have become the main protagonists, while the candidates have been relegated to bit parts. The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) voted on 9 March to expel two presidential candidates, including Julio Guzmán, who is running a strong second in the opinion polls, from the race. The JNE upheld a resolution by the Jurado Electoral Especial (JEE) de Lima, which accepted appeals against Guzmán’s candidacy days after declaring it to be valid. The public has reacted to the inconsistencies of the electoral bodies by concluding that the campaign is all about expulsions now rather than expositions. There are legal challenges underway to see the frontrunner, Keiko Fujimori, expelled from the race.