4.

The General Elections of 2000: Competition and Controversy

Many of the obstacles to democratic competition mentioned above came to a head during the general

elections of 2000, which experts consider to be among the most irregular and controversial in recent

Latin American history. During the campaign itself, the main charges documented by national and

international observors included the use of public resources to support the President s party, harassment

of the press and opposition candidates, inadequate opposition access to the media, and the falsification of

signatures for purposes of registration of the pro Fujimori Peru 2000 movement.  The vote count on

election day was also rife with charges of irregularities and outright fraud.

The idea that the opposition parties and movements might field a unity candidate and platform for the

presidential race this time around was laid to rest in a joint announcement by Alberto Andrade of 

Somos

Peru

 and Luis Castaneda Lossio of 

Solidaridad Nacional

, the two leading contenders at the outset of this

race, who confirmed that they would pursue separate campaigns. The decision came after months of talks

between the candidates and their staffs failed to produce any agreement on which camp would cede the

presidential slot and prospective appointments in a new government.  With the unity candidacy shelved,

nine parties and movements vied to replace Fujimori in the presidential slot.

10

Complaints that the government was masterminding a  dirty war  against its opponents became a

permanent feature in the political discourse. The first and most vicious personal attacks were launched by

the major broadcast media against Andrade and other 

Somos Per 

 candidates, and Andrade accused the

Peruvian intelligence service of directing this effort. For his part, the President shunned participating in

formal debates and avoided head to head exchanges with its opponents during the campaign.

Unequal treatment of candidates by television outlets emerged as another key issue in the campaign.

Transparencia

 produced a series of reports showing that President Fujimori was the subject of most

television news coverage while his rivals received next to none between October 1999 and January 2000.

In response to the criticism, Prime Minister Alberto Bustamante announced the government would insure

fair treatment of candidates by the government operated television station, including an extension of the

number of days that the public Channel 7 would provide free air time to candidates.  Opposition

candidates also charged that television stations were refusing to sell commercial time for campaign

advertisements. Concerns about media manipulation also surfaced in the public debate about polls.

Serious questions about the credibility of the official electoral institutions also remained  throughout the

process.  

Transparencia

 issued a critical report on the state of the voter registration list, calling it

obsolete. The report estimated that the names of at least 345,851 deceased individuals remained on the

rolls. Since such errors created a margin for fraud on election day, 

Transparencia

 recommended the JNE

disapprove the voter registration list and continue to allow it to be updated as late as thirty days prior to

the election. JNE approved the voter registration list, but gave ONPE permission to correct errors until

February 15.

The government also came under harsh international criticism on issues related to election conditions.

The second Carter Center NDI mission issued a report concluding that,  the political conditions for free

and fair elections have not yet been established.   It urged the government to improve opposition media

access through the government purchase of television space for parties, take measures to stop the

harassment of opposition candidates, and assure no misuse of state resources for electoral ends.  Other

10

 Fielding a presidential candidate is considered to be a way of increasing the visibility and appeal of a party's

congressional list. Peruvian electoral law allows candidates for the vice presidency to run concurrently for Congress.

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