Peru's Congress approves gender parity and alternation in elections
The plenary session of the Congress of Peru approved this Thursday to establish gender parity and alternation in the lists of candidates for the Peruvian elections, a norm that was highlighted as a great change in the history of the Andean country.
The bill, which modifies the Organic Law on Elections, received 111 votes in favor, 15 against and 1 abstention, after which the plenary session of Parliament exonerated it from the second compulsory vote.
After the approval of the norm, which was drawn up by the Constitution and Regulation committees, and the Legislative Committee on Women and Family, Congresswoman Zenaida Solís assured that "with this the history of Peru will begin to change."
"The elections of 2021 will be with parity and alternation. Finally! Women will never again be filled with lists," said the member of the centrist Purple Party on Twitter.
According to the norm, the formulas for the Presidency and the two Peruvian vice-presidencies must include, at least, one woman in their conformation, with candidates placed between them.
In addition, the payrolls for the internal or primary elections will be made up of 50% of women or men, located intercalated, although the vote will be cast by each candidate individually.
The winning list of the internal elections will be ordered according to the result of the vote, but respecting 50% of women or men.
In this sense, the candidates with the highest voting will occupy the first places, but when the maximum amount of the same sex has been covered, the candidate of the opposite sex required to meet the minimum quota will continue.
The final relationship will be ordered in an interleaved manner, with a woman, a man, or a man, a woman, and the candidates who cannot make up the final list will be replaced by others of the same sex.
In the lists to the Congress and the Andean Parliament the results of internal democracy will be considered and the criteria of gender parity and alternation shall be verified on the total number of applicants presented by each organization.
During the day, the congressional board also agreed that the proposal to eliminate the preferential vote in the elections for Congress be debated in another plenary session.
This decision motivated the protest of the Purple Party parliamentarians since, according to Solís, it was an agreement already taken that the board of directors "simply dismissed."
"Now it is time to insist on the elimination of the preferential vote, which today the Congress table refused to put to a vote," said the legislator, who considered the preferential vote "harmful", since it makes the candidates of the same party " become enemies "and favors the campaigns of those with greater economic resources.
