Piero Corvetto, the head of Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), resigned from his position on Tuesday amid the ongoing uncertainty of the April 12 election results.
Peru is presently in the midst of a new chapter of its already convoluted years-long political crisis as ONPE, the institution in charge of organizing and carrying out elections in Peru, has not finished counting the votes of the April 12 presidential election, in which 35 different candidates ran on the ballot. The sheer amount of candidates virtually guaranteed that no candidate would be able to attain the required 50-percent vote majority to win in the first round, all but ensuring a runoff between the two most voted candidates which has been scheduled to take place on June 7.
The still ongoing vote count process has left Peruvians in a state of uncertainty. Of particular concern is second place as conservative former first lady Keiko Fujimori maintains a solid lead but the difference between second and third place remains under one percent. Radical leftist candidate Roberto Helbert Sanchez Palomino, conservative former mayor of Lima Rafael Bernando Lopez Aliaga, and former Culture Minister Jorge Nieto Montesinos are all hovering around 11 percent of the vote.
Election day was hindered by significant delays in the opening of voting stations, many of which did not receive ballots and other electoral material on time. The delays also left over a dozen voting centers in Lima unable to operate on April 12, prompting a special extension of the voting process for the affected electorate on the following day.
While ONPE is the institution in charge of organizing elections in Peru, all election-related disputes are handled by the National Election Jury (JNE). On Sunday, the head of the JNE Yessica Clavijo told Radio Programas Perú that the institution is expecting to finally have complete results from April 12 by “mid-May,” roughly one month after the election, and mere weeks before the June 7 runoff.
Piero Corvetto, who has been the subject of widespread criticism for the unprecedented logistical issues and electoral delays, presented his letter of resignation as head of ONPE to the JNJ on Tuesday, deeming his resignation as “necessary and urgent” while expressing his “full and complete cooperation with investigations in the appropriate jurisdictions” in light of the irregularities presented during the election.
Corvetto further justified his decision to step down from ONPE in the interest of ensuring that the upcoming June runoff “is conducted and carried out in an environment of greater public trust in the ONPE.”
“I hope that my resignation will help foster greater confidence in the elections, and I am confident that my successor will help create a political environment conducive to the successful holding of the second round of the presidential election,” Corvetto’s resignation letter read in part.
ONPE formalized Corvetto’s resignation on Tuesday night and posted on social media that its general manager, Bernardo Juan Pachas Serrano, was appointed as interim head of the electoral institution as per Peruvian electoral laws, which state that if the position of head of ONPE remains vacant during an electoral process, the immediate highest ranking member is appointed as interim chief instead. The institution further claimed that Corvetto’s departure “has not interrupted nor will it interrupt” the ongoing vote count proceedings.
Corvetto, after resigning, headed to the Peruvian anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office to testify as part of an ongoing investigation into the irregularities presented during the election. Corvetto reportedly remained at the prosecutor’s office for about an hour and handed over his Peruvian passport, leaving the office and boarding his vehicle in silence without speaking to the press.
On Wednesday morning, hours after Corvetto presented his resignation and testified at the prosecutor’s office, Attorney General of Peru Tomás Aladino Gálvez announced that his office has formally requested preventive detention measures against Piero Corvetto. The request was reportedly made on Tuesday night and as of Wednesday morning remains pending for the corresponding judge on duty to announce the date of a hearing to review the prosecution’s motion against Corvetto and other officials of the electoral body.
Attorney General Aladino Gálvez also confirmed to reporters that Corvetto, a dual national of Peru and Italy, handed over both his Peruvian and Italian passports to authorities on Tuesday, dismissing reports published on Tuesday suggesting that Corvetto had only handed over his Peruvian passport and has allegedly failed to disclose his dual Italian citizenship.
Despite the delays in the vote count process, Peruvian authorities have reportedly confirmed that the upcoming runoff will still take place on June 7.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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