Social movements in Peru warn this Thursday that promoting voter absenteeism or spoiled ballots directly benefits the right-wing candidate in the upcoming June 7 presidential election.

The Human Rights collectives and social movements of Peru marched through the historic center of Lima to reject the media campaign promoting blank and null votes.

Citizen organizations warned that this electoral stance only fragments the popular vote, which indirectly benefits the far right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.

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According to the spokespersons, the candidacy of Keiko Fujimori represents an imminent danger of returning to historical schemes of impunity, corruption and systematic violations of fundamental freedoms. Therefore, these collectives demanded political responsibility from independent voters, urging them to block the path of the right-wing Popular Force (Fuerza Popular, in Spanish) party through active and conscious voting.

Text reads: “A few days before the presidential run-off, social organizations reject the media campaign that promotes white or null voting. They warn that this stance would favor Keiko Fujimori, who is said to represent the crime, impunity and violations of human rights.”

Right-Wing Destabilization Strategies

Human Rights activist Gisela Ortiz denounced that the narrative regarding alleged electoral irregularities is part of a preventive destabilization strategy orchestrated by conservative sectors. The leader stated that Keiko Fujimori seeks to sow doubt about electoral bodies to reject the results in case of an adverse outcome.

The statements made by the leader of Popular Force (Fuerza Popular, in Spanish) during the final presidential debate generated deep alarm among national and international observer committees. In that public speech, the far-right candidate suggested the possibility of computer fraud, which observers analyze as preparing the ground to challenge the official voting records of the process.

In response to these maneuvers, student federations and labor unions called for a permanent national mobilization to monitor the vote-counting process at every polling station. Popular sectors insisted that defending democracy requires defeating the authoritarian project inherited from the 1990s dictatorship at the ballot box.

Democratic Defense Mobilizations

The united fronts ratified that blank or null voting does not constitute a valid alternative of protest during the current historical juncture in the Andean nation. Grassroots organizations reaffirmed their commitment to continue mobilizing in the streets to raise awareness among the population about the necessity of defending the democratic system.

During the day, the progressive candidate of Together for Peru (Juntos por el Perú, in Spanish), Roberto Sánchez, anticipated that his political party will respect the electoral results. The progressive candidate also urged his opponent to do the same.

“We are in a position to accept the electoral results and I reaffirm this; rather, we urge Keiko not to have hesitant messages and to be clear regarding the electoral process“, Sánchez declared during a press conference.

The far right-wing candidate, Keiko Fujimori of Popular Force, who obtained 17.18% of the valid votes, and the progressive candidate, Roberto Sánchez of Together for Peru, who obtained 12.03% of the votes, will face each other in the second round of the presidential election next Sunday, June 7.

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