2020 Peruvian parliamentary election

Early parliamentary elections were held in Peru on 26 January 2020.[1] The elections were called after President Martín Vizcarra dissolved the Congress of the Republic on 30 September 2019.[1]

2020 Peruvian parliamentary election

26 January 2020
All 130 seats in the Congress of Peru 66 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	24,812,087
Turnout	74.07% ( 20.83pp)[lower-alpha 1]
First party Second party Third party   Party Popular Action Podemos Perú FREPAP Last election 5 seats, 7.20% – Did not contest Seats won 25 11 15 Seat change 20 New 15 Popular vote 1,518,171 1,240,716 1,240,084 Percentage 10.26% 8.38% 8.38% Swing 3.06% N/A 8.38%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Alliance for Progress Purple Party Popular Force Last election Part of APP – 73 seats, 36.34% Seats won 22 9 15 Seat change [lower-alpha 2] New 58 Popular vote 1,178,020 1,095,491 1,081,174 Percentage 7.96% 7.40% 7.31% Swing – N/A 29.03%   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Party Union for Peru Broad Front We Are Peru Last election Did not contest 20 seats, 13.94% Part of APP Seats won 13 9 11 Seat change 13 11 [lower-alpha 2] Popular vote 1,001,716 911,701 895,700 Percentage 6.77% 6.16% 6.05% Swing 6.77% 7.78% –
Results of the election.

All 130 congressmen corresponding to the 26 electoral districts were elected to office for the remainder of the 2016–2021 congressional period. It was the seventh parliamentary election under the 1993 Constitution, which created the current Congress of the Republic of Peru.

Background

On 30 September 2019, the President of the Council of Ministers, Salvador del Solar, set forth a vote of confidence before the Congress for refusing to pass a bill that modified the election process of judges of the Constitutional Court. The vote of confidence sought to stop the election of magistrates, modify the Organic Law of the Constitutional Court and the designation of the tribunes. However, the Plenary Session of Congress decided to continue with the election of magistrates, and ignored the vote of confidence presented by Del Solar. President Martín Vizcarra considered this a vote of no confidence in his Cabinet,[2] and proceeded with the dissolution of Congress and the call for new elections according to Article 134 of the constitution:[3]

The President of the Republic is empowered to dissolve the Congress if it has censured or voted down two Councils of Ministers.

130 members were elected to the Congress of Peru for the remainder of the 2016–2021 term

The decree of dissolution also called for new congressional elections to replace the existing congress.[4] Under the law, elections are to be held within four months of the date of dissolution, without altering the pre-existing electoral system, and the Congress cannot be dissolved in the last year of the congressional term, which would be 2021. Once the Congress is dissolved, the Permanent Congressional Committee still remains in operation, which cannot be dissolved.

Schedule

The schedule of activities of the congressional elections of Peru of 2020:

Electoral schedule
Call for elections	30 September 2019
Sending the list of the initial register by the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) to the JNE	7 October 2019
The period for party elections begins	11 October 2019
Last day to submit resignations to apply for another political organization
Last day to register political alliances	31 October 2019
End of the period for party elections	6 November 2019
Approval of the electoral roll	16 November 2019
Approval of the electoral roll
Deadline for submission of candidate list
Closing of the Registry of political organizations	18 November 2019
Deadline for the publication of accepted lists	3 December 2019
Deadline for exclusion, resignation and withdrawal of candidates December	27 December 2019
2020 Congressional election day	26 January 2020

Electoral system

The 130 members of Congress are elected in 26 multi-member constituencies using open list proportional representation. To enter Congress, parties must either cross the 5% electoral threshold at the national level, or win at least seven seats in one constituency. Seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method.[5][6]

Results

Party that received the most votes by region

The election was the most divided in Peruvian history, with no party receiving more than 11% of the vote. The Fujimorist Popular Force, the largest party in the previous legislature, lost most of its seats, and the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) had its worst ever election result, failing to win a seat for the first time since before the 1963 elections. New or previously minor parties such as Podemos Perú, the Purple Party and the Agricultural People's Front had good results. Contigo, the successor to former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's Peruvians for Change party, failed to win a seat and received only around 1% of the vote. The result was seen as representative of public support for president Martín Vizcarra's anti-corruption reform proposals.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Popular Action	1,518,171	10.26	25	+20
	Podemos Perú	1,240,716	8.38	11	New
	Agricultural People's Front	1,240,084	8.38	15	New
	Alliance for Progress	1,178,020	7.96	22	[lower-alpha 2]
	Purple Party	1,095,491	7.40	9	New
	Popular Force	1,081,174	7.31	15	–58
	Union for Peru	1,001,716	6.77	13	New
	Broad Front	911,701	6.16	9	–11
	We Are Peru	895,700	6.05	11	[lower-alpha 2]
	Together for Peru	710,462	4.80	0	New
	Christian People's Party	590,378	3.99	0	0
	Direct Democracy	543,956	3.68	0	0
	Perú Libre	502,898	3.40	0	New
	APRA	402,330	2.72	0	–5
	Go on Country	373,113	2.52	0	New
	Perú Patria Segura	350,121	2.37	0	New
	Go Peru	311,413	2.10	0	New
	National United Renaissance	265,564	1.79	0	New
	National Solidarity Party	221,123	1.49	0	New
	Peru Nation	206,128	1.39	0	New
	Contigo	158,120	1.07	0	New
Invalid/blank votes		3,570,709	–	–	–
Total		18,369,088	100	130	0
Registered voters/turnout		24,812,087	74.07	–	–
Source: ONPE

Notes

1. Compared to the turnout for just the Congressional elections in the 2016 general election
2. Part of the Alliance for the Progress of Peru coalition in the 2016 general election

References

1. Peru’s political storm: a timeline of events Los Angeles Times, 4 October 2019
2. "Disolución del Congreso | Martín Vizcarra | 84% de peruanos apoya la disolución del Congreso". RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-10-07.
3. "Peru's president dissolves Congress to push through anti-corruption reforms". The Guardian. 1 October 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
4. "Peru's vice-president resigns amid power struggle". BBC News. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
5. Peru IFES
6. Resultados Congresales ONPE