WRITTEN QUESTION P-1825/00

by Brian Crowley (UEN) to the Council

(5 June 2000)

Subject: Elections in Peru

As the Council is aware, the Presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo withdrew from the run-off in the Peruvian Presidential elections of 28 May, stating that a postponement was the only way to ensure that the election conditions would be improved and that the run-off would not be fraudulent. He also asked for the date of the election to be changed to 18 June 2000. Furthermore, the Electoral Observation Mission of the Organisation of American States announced that it would suspend its election observation because of the lack of consistency and accuracy in the National Office of Electoral Processes and that it was necessary to be able to offer sufficient guarantees to the Peruvian population as a whole that their votes would be respected.

Will the Council make a statement with regard to the developments in the Presidential elections in Peru referred to above and outline its policy for future relations with Peru, and would it go so far as to consider the imposition of sanctions, should the present position remain unchanged?

Reply

(28 September 2000)

As the Honourable Member probably is aware, the EU and its member states withdrew their monitoring teams, following Peruvian electoral authorities decision to reject the postponement of the second round of the Presidential elections and the ruling that Mr. Toledo remained a candidate despite his decision to boycott the ballot.

On this occasion, the EU issued a declaration announcing its decision to withdraw its monitoring mission and underlined its deep concern in relation to the decision of the Jurado Nacional de Elecciones. The EU stated that the decision would not allow time to overcome the difficulties observed during the electoral process and, therefore, would not permit the elections to take place in a credible manner and in accordance with international standards. The declaration also drew attention to the need to respect the principles of constitutional democracy and political pluralism, recalling that the engagement to abide by those principles is a precondition to the development of its political and economic ties with Peru.

On 9 June 2000, following the decision of the OAS to send, on the invitation of the Peruvian authorities, a new mission to Peru, the Presidency, on behalf of the European Union, further issued a Declaration on the situation in Peru.

The declaration reiterated the European Union's deep concern over the number of irregularities and anomalies reported during the elections and the subsequent reduction of the democratic legitimacy the elections would otherwise have provided.

It welcomed the decision of the OAS to send a mission to Peru to explore options and recommendations aimed at further strengthening democracy and underlined the strong importance the EU attaches to the success of the mission.

The declaration furthermore expressed the will on the part of the European Union to put its weight behind all democratic forces active in Peru that strive for a reinforcement of institutions to safeguard the peoples right of political freedom and participation and the rule of law.

The European Union also called upon all political forces, and specially the Government, to work for consensus, through dialogue, in order to find sufficient ground for compromise to strengthen democracy in Peru, allowing the opposition to fully participate in the political debate.

The Council, as stated in the declaration, will continue to closely follow the situation in Peru and its development and, in this light, will examine its relations with this country.