General elections were held in Peru in on 9 April 2006 to elect the President, two Vice-Presidents, 120 members of Congress and five members of the Andean Parliament for the 2006–2011 period. As no presidential candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 4 June between the top two candidates, Ollanta Humala and Alan García. Garcia won the run-off with 52.63% to Humala's 47.37%. He was subsequently inaugurated on 28 July 2006, Peruvian Independence Day.
Electoral system The 120 members of Congress were elected from 25 constituencies based on the 24 departments and the Constitutional Province of Callao. The number of seats in Congress for each district was determined by its number of eligible voters. A political party need to win a minimum of five seats in two electoral districts or 4% of nationwide valid votes in order to be represented in Congress.
A minimum of 4% of nationwide valid votes was necessary for a party to win seats in the Andean Parliament.
Candidates Main presidential candidates Peruvian Aprista Party Union for Peru National Unity Alliance for the Future Centre Front National Restoration President of Peru(1985–1990) Member of Congress(1995-2000) Member of Congress(1995-2006) President of Peru(2000-2001) Alan García is the leader of left-leaning Peruvian Aprista Party and was President of Peru from 1985 to 1990. His presidency was marked by hyperinflation and an economic crisis, as well as widespread terrorist activities and isolation from the international community; however, he came in second place in the 2001 presidential election, losing in the runoff against Alejandro Toledo. Critics often pointed to his administration as a failure to be repeated if he got elected. Ollanta Humala is the leader of the left-wing Peruvian Nationalist Party, but ran under the Union for Peru banner. He is a Lieutenant Colonel (retired) and led an uprising in October 2000 against then President Alberto Fujimori, for which he was pardoned by Congress following Fujimori's fall in November. He spoke of the "refoundation" of the country in a "Second Republic" and called for the rewriting of the Constitution by a Constituent Assembly. Opponents criticized his lack of political experience, his perceived authoritarianism and populism. He was constantly associated during the campaign with his brothers Ulises and Antauro, though their etnocacerista movement is more radical than his nationalist movement. Ulises also ran for President in this election with Avanza País; Antauro, who participated in the 2000 insurrection, is in prison, following his own brief rebellion in January 2005 against President Alejandro Toledo, but also ran for Congress under the Avanza País. Lourdes Flores is the leader of the conservative, right-wing National Unity coalition. She is a former Congresswoman and came in third place in the 2001 presidential election. She was often targeted as the candidate of the rich and was accused by opponents of not caring about the poor. Her running mate was Arturo Woodman, a well-known entrepreneur, who also led the organization of the 2004 Copa América and the 2005 U-17 World Championship. Martha Chávez was the candidate of the pro-Fujimorist Alliance for the Future. She is currently a Congresswoman and was the first female President of Congress. A staunch defender of the former president, she was suspended from Congress in 2002 after corruption accusations, but was reinstated in 2005. Running mate Santiago Fujimori is Alberto's younger brother. As with all of the fujimoristas, she was criticized for defending an administration that is seen as corrupt and authoritarian. Valentín Paniagua was the leader of the Center Front, a coalition of centrist parties formed for this election. He was President of Congress before becoming the interim President of Peru (November 2000-July 2001), following the collapse of Fujimori's administration. Running mate Alberto Andrade was mayor of Lima from 1996 to 2002. Humberto Lay Sun (National Restoration) is an evangelical pastor and was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established to study the atrocities committed in the 1980s and 1990s. Running mate Máximo San Román was Fujimori's Vice-President, but split with him after the 1992 self-coup.
Minor presidential nominees Natale Amprimo (Alliance for Progress), Javier Diez Canseco (Partido Socialista) and Luis Guerrero (Perú Ahora) are current Members of Congress. Guerrero was also mayor of Cajamarca. Alberto Borea (Democratic Force) is a former Deputy and Senator. In 1992, he participated in a failed coup against Fujimori, led by Jaime Salinas Sedó, whose son was National Justice's candidate in this election, Jaime Salinas. Susana Villarán (Decentralization Coalition) was Minister of Women's Promotion and Social Development during Paniagua's tenure. Alberto Fujimori's candidacy was rejected after a ban by Congress forbidding him to hold office until 2011 was upheld. Ruling party Possible Peru and ally Independent Moralizing Front (FIM) withdrew their candidates. PP's candidate Rafael Belaúnde was not a party member and clashed with the party's core over the congressional candidate list, which included some people he did not approve of. FIM's leader Fernando Olivera, quit to run for Congress, realizing his slim chances in the presidential race.
Presidential tickets Political party or electoral alliance Candidates Name for President for 1st Vice-president for 2nd Vice-presidentAlliance for ProgressAlianza para el ProgresoNatale AmprimoCésar AcuñaJulia ValenzuelaAlliance for the FutureAlianza por el FuturoMartha ChávezSantiago FujimoriRolando SousaAnd It's Called PeruY se llama PerúRicardo WongErnesto D'AngeloJosé del Carmen SifuentesAndean RenaissanceRenacimiento AndinoCiro GálvezPatricia MarimónCarmen CasaniCenter FrontFrente de CentroValentín PaniaguaAlberto AndradeGonzalo AguirreDecentralization CoalitionConcertación DescentralistaSusana VillaránNery SaldarriagaCarlos ParedesDemocratic ForceFuerza DemocráticaAlberto BoreaMarco FalconíYván VásquezDemocratic ReconstructionReconstrucción DemocráticaJosé Cardó GuarderasMarco Antonio AlcaldeJuana AvellanedaGo On CountryAvanza PaísUlises HumalaPedro CenasConstante Traverso FloresLet's Make Progress PeruProgresemos PerúJavier EspinozaManuel Yto SeguilAgustín Quezada SánchezNational JusticeJusticia NacionalJaime SalinasJosé Carlos Luque OteroAna María VillafuerteNational RestorationRestauración NacionalHumberto Lay SunMáximo San RománMaría Eugenia de la PuenteNational UnityUnidad NacionalLourdes Flores NanoArturo WoodmanLuis Enrique CarpioNew Left MovementMovimiento Nueva Izquierda *Alberto MorenoJuan José GorritiAlejandro NarváezPeru NowPerú AhoraLuis GuerreroVíctor EchegarayAndrés AlcántaraPeruvian Aprista PartyPartido Aprista PeruanoAlan GarcíaLuis Giampietri RojasLourdes MendozaPeruvian ResurgenceResurgimiento PeruanoÁntero AstoCarlos BentínRoberto PinedaSocialist PartyPartido SocialistaJavier Diez CansecoMaría HuamánAlberto QuintanillaUnion for PeruUnión por el PerúOllanta HumalaGonzalo García NúñezCarlos Torres CaroWith Force PeruCon Fuerza PerúPedro Koechlin Von SteinWalter Vera TudelaMaría Jesús Espinoza
* Ticket officially registered under MNI, which enjoyed previous registration as a political party, but nominated by Broad Left Front (Frente Amplio de Izquierda).
+ Tickets rejected by the Special Electoral Jury (Jurado Electoral Especial) Political party Candidate Rejection Name for President for 1st Vice-president for 2nd Vice-president Date Motive Sí Cumple Alberto Fujimori Luisa María Cuculiza Germán Kruger January 10 Fujimori banned from holding office until 2011
+ Voluntarily Withdrawn Tickets Political party Candidate Withdrawal Name for President for 1st Vice-president for 2nd Vice-president Date MotivePeru PossiblePerú PosibleRafael BelaúndeCarlos BruceRómulo Mucho Mamani January 31 Clash over party's congressional candidate listIndependent Moralizing FrontFrente Independiente MoralizadorFernando OliveraFausto AlvaradoLuis Iberico Núñez February 8 Olivera to lead party's congressional candidate listProject CountryProyecto PaísMarco Antonio ArrunáteguiElías EspinozaMaría Teresa García February 8 Arrunátegui to lead party's congressional candidate list
Congress 24 parties presented up to 130 candidates to Congress each, for a total of 2,918 candidates. 331 of these were rejected by the National Jury of Elections, leaving 2,587 candidates. These represent all parties with presidential candidates, plus Possible Peru, Independent Moralizing Front, Project Country, and Agricultural People's Front of Peru (Frente Popular Agrícola del Perú, FREPAP). Sí Cumple did not register any candidates.
The table below shows the breakdown of candidates by Electoral District. Votes by 457,891 Peruvians residing abroad were counted in the Lima Electoral District (the number of voters in the table includes them).
Electoral DistrictRegistered votersSeats in CongressCandidates per partyParticipating partiesTotal candidates Amazonas 179,331 2 3 17 47 Ancash 611,881 5 5 21 99 Apurímac 195,954 2 3 21 55 Arequipa 770,535 5 5 21 101 Ayacucho 306,662 3 3 20 58 Cajamarca 721,239 5 5 23 109 Callao 541,730 4 4 24 92 Cusco 643,629 5 5 22 98 Huancavelica 203,844 2 3 15 39 Huánuco 354,416 3 3 22 65 Ica 451,197 4 5 22 88 Junín 701,190 5 5 22 99 La Libertad 942,656 7 7 22 145 Lambayeque 676,735 5 5 22 101 Lima 6,063,109 35 35 24 738 Loreto 416,419 3 3 22 60 Madre de Dios 47,742 1 3 14 35 Moquegua 99,962 2 3 18 44 Pasco 135,670 2 3 17 51 Piura 914,912 6 6 23 136 Puno 674,865 5 5 23 106 San Martín 357,124 3 3 17 47 Tacna 172,427 2 3 18 57 Tumbes 110,335 2 3 19 57 Ucayali 201,342 2 3 22 60 Nationwide 16,494,906 120 130 14-24 2,587
Andean Parliament A total of 21 parties nominated 15 candidates for the Andean Parliament each, for a total of 315 candidates. 73 candidates were rejected by the National Jury of Elections, leaving 242 candidates from 19 parties. Participating parties include all those with Congressional candidates, except And It's Called Peru, Decentralization Coalition, Democratic Force, FREPAP and Let's Make Progress Peru.
Campaign Presidential debate The only official presidential debate was held on May 21, 2006 between Ollanta Humala and Alan García, with journalist Augusto Álvarez Rodrich as moderator, in the National Museum of Archaeology. There were no debates before the first round.
Humala arrived late, so García started the debate on his own, claiming that his opponent had "stopped at a bar for a sandwich" and accusing him of having "no respect for the country". Humala accused Aprista supporters of delaying his arrival.
Álvarez Rodrich asked Humala to remove a small Peruvian flag on his podium before his first intervention, in order to have equitative images for both contenders. The candidate refused, saying that the national symbol was nothing to be ashamed about and arguing that the debate arrangements did not forbid using it, leading the moderator to withdraw the flag himself.