Peru 2016 Presidential Elections: César Acuña and Julio Guzmán Disqualified

The United States is not the only country facing political tension around 2016 presidential elections. Two candidates whom opinion polls had running second and fourth in Peru’s presidential election have been disqualified from preliminary elections to take place on April 10, while the frontrunner, Keiko Fujimori was rumored to be at risk of being similarly disqualified.

Both candidates’ parties appealed the JEE resolutions on March 7 to the JEE’s governing board, the National Electoral Jury (Jurado Nacional Electoral, or JNE), which on March 9 issued its decision upholding both JEE rulings disqualifying Guzmán and Acuña. Both parties presented extraordinary appeals on March 12 in final attempts to reverse these decisions, and the following day the JNE effectively ended both campaigns by declaring both appeals unfounded.

Julio César Castiglioni, a Peruvian lawyer with a specialty in electoral law, said the JEE must perform a rigorous investigation and validate the facts.

Council on Hemispheric Affrairs - March 15, 2016