Andean Group - April 2011 (ISSN 1741-4466)

Stepping into the unknown – Peru election goes down to the wire

Watched by 14m Peruvians, over three quarters of the electorate, the final televised presidential debate on 3 April was billed as the “big fight”, as the five leading candidates, who are running neck and neck in the polls ahead of the 10 April first round (the top three on a technical tie), sought to shine. Yet, on the night, the candidates seemed wary of losing their tightly fought positions. They sparred but were unable to land any lethal punches. It’s unlikely that the large proportion of undecided voters (roughly 20%-30% of the electorate) were swayed by the performances. All five played a relatively defensive game, bar Alejandro Toledo and Keiko Fujimori, who gave their rivals a dressing down. In the absence of much policy debate, what ultimately emerged from the debate was a firmer idea of who each candidate sees as their main challenger.