Overview
- The Jurado Electoral Especial (JEE) de Pataz declared the district municipal election null this week after official ODPE figures showed 3,664 of 6,978 registered voters (52.5%) did not vote.
- The JEE issued the annulment unanimously and ex oficio under Article 36 of the Municipal Elections Law as modified by Law No. 32657, and it rejected APP’s nullity request because it arrived past the legal deadline.
- Before the nullity was declared, tallies recorded 1,464 votes for Podemos Perú, 702 for Alianza para el Progreso, 1,039 blank ballots and 109 null ballots, figures the JEE said did not overcome the participation shortfall.
- Podemos Perú argued that a long-running state of emergency and damaged access roads depressed turnout, but ODPE and the JEE’s oversight reports recorded no incidents on election day and the JEE did not accept that explanation.
- The decision affects only the Pataz district seat and leaves provincial and regional results to be resolved separately; a new district election must be called, which will delay local representation and could affect services in a community with high migration and mining-related disruptions.