PERU
Parliamentary Chamber: Congreso Constituyente Democrático

ELECTIONS HELD IN 1992

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Chamber:
  Congreso Constituyente Democrático


Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):

  22 November 1992


Purpose of elections:

  Elections were held for all the 80 seats in the Democratic Constituent Congress set up to draft a new Constitution.


Background and outcome of elections:

  In April 1992, following a long-standing clash between the Congress and the President of the Republic Alberto Fujimori, the latter suspended the Congress on grounds of corruption and incompetence. He also suspended the judiciary and portions of the 1979 Constitution. Legislative power was then exercised by the President with the approval of the Council of Ministers.

This move was widely condemned by the international community and, on 21 April, President Fujimori announced a comprehensive timetable for a return to democratic rule, which included congressional elections for February 1993. This calendar was subsequently revised in May, with national elections being scheduled for November 1992 to an 80-member interim Parliament, the Democratic Constituent Congress, entrusted with the responsibility of rewriting the 1979 Constitution. The new Constitution would then be submitted to a referendum.

The main opposition parties including the two largest, the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance and the Popular Action Party, denounced these plans as an attempt by President Fujimori to legitimate his dictatorship. They therefore called on Peruvians to boycott the elections by spoiling their ballot papers, since voting is compulsory in Peru until the age of 70. The only political groups which accepted to participate in the elections were the pro-government alliance, the New Majority Change-90, the Popular Christian Democratic Party and half a dozen smaller parties. Ten independent lists were also presented.

Polling was held under tight security as a result of threats by the Maoist group, Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) to disrupt the elections. During the election campaign, a number of bombings had taken place in Lima and there had been an attempted coup d’Etat to unseat President Fujimori. Despite this tense atmosphere, the polling took place in relative calm and the turnout was massive.

The New Majority Change-90 won an absolute majority of the seats (44) although it scored only 37% of the votes, failing far short of President Fujimori’s 75% personal approval rating. They were followed by their closest rivals, the PPC and the Moralising Independent Front (FIM), with eight and seven seats, respectively. The opposition alleged irregularities and denounced the results as fraudulent but the Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), who had headed a 200-strong observer mission, declared that the elections had been relatively fair.

The first session of the Democratic Constituent Assembly opened on 30 December with Mr. Jaime Yoshiyama Tanaka, leader of New Majority Change-90, as its President. Besides being charged with writing a new charter, it would perform legislative and supervisory functions.

STATISTICS
Round no 1 (22 November 1992): Elections results  
Number of registered electors 11,000,000 (approx.)
Voters 75% (approx.)
Blank or invalid ballot papers 25% (approx.)

Round no 1: Distribution of votes  
Political Group %
New Majority Change-90 (NM Cambio-90) 37.0
Popular Christian Party (PPC) 7.5
Moralising Independent Front (FIM) 6.2
Renovation Movement (MR) 5.4
Left-wing Democratic Movement (MDI) 4.8
Democratic Co-ordination (CD) 4.1
National Workers and Peasants Front (FRENATRACA) n.a.
Solidarity and Democracy (SODE) n.a.
Popular Agricultural Front (FREPAP) n.a.
Independent Agricultural Movement (MIA) n.a.

Round no 1: Distribution of seats  
Political Group Total
New Majority Change-90 (NM Cambio-90) 44
Popular Christian Party (PPC) 8
Moralising Independent Front (FIM) 7
Renovation Movement (MR) 6
Left-wing Democratic Movement (MDI) 4
Democratic Co-ordination (CD) 4
National Workers and Peasants Front (FRENATRACA) 3
Solidarity and Democracy (SODE) 1
Popular Agricultural Front (FREPAP) 2
Independent Agricultural Movement (MIA) 1

Distribution of seats according to sex:  
Men: 75
Women: 5


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Copyright © 1992 Inter-Parliamentary Union