CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE REPORT ON FORGED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 002054 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR PE SUBJECT: CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE REPORT ON FORGED SIGNATURES SCANDAL REMAINS MIRED IN CONTROVERSY REF: A. LIMA 1953 ¶B. LIMA 1900 ¶C. LIMA 1375 Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The three opposition party members of the congressional committee investigating allegations that President Alejandro Toledo's party forged signatures to register for the 2000 elections concluded that there was massive fraud and that Toledo was responsible. The two pro-GOP members disagreed and boycotted the Committee's final session, thereby preventing the quorum needed to transact business. The opposition members nevertheless voted to adopt a final report and forwarded it to the Congress Directive Council. That body, in turn, farmed it out to the Constitutional Affairs Committee, which is expected to reject the report based on the absence of a quorum. While individual opposition politicians may wish to use this scandal to go after Toledo, the opposition parties and their leaders remain content to let the President finish his term. Once Toledo leaves office on 7/28/06, however, the allegations against him could well resurface. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The Villanueva Committee (a special congressional committee charged with investigating allegations that political parties forged signatures to register for the 2000 elections) terminated its mandate on 5/3. Three of its five members (all belonging to opposition parties) signed off on a final report that accused President Alejandro Toledo of complicity in the alleged massive forgery of signatures to register his Pais Posible (now Peru Posible) party; Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero of interfering with the Committee's investigation; and Toledo, Transport Minister Jose Ortiz and ex-Interior Ministry Javier Reategui of involvement in the temporary flight of witness Carmen Burga to Ecuador. The report left it to the full Congress to determine the appropriate sanctions. Individually, the three Committee members expressed different opinions on the sanctions they thought Congress should apply to Toledo. Committee Chairman Edgar Villanueva (Peru Ahora) urged that Congress vacate the Presidency, Xavier Barron (Unidad Nacional) suggested that Toledo be prohibited from assuming public office for 10 years once his term ends on 7/28/06, and Victor Velarde (APRA) opined that the President should be suspended from office �00A;until the case is processed by the Congress. ¶3. (U) The two pro-GOP Committee members, Marcial Ayaipoma (Peru Posible) and Heriberto Benitez (Independent Moralizing Front),rejected the report on procedural and substantive grounds. Procedurally, they argued that the Committee lacked the necessary quorum when it voted to adopt the report as neither legislator was present and, under congressional regulations, a majority-plus-one (four out of the five) Committee members is required to establish a quorum. On substance, they dismissed the reports conclusions as being based on the uncritical acceptance of the non-credible and often contradictory testimony of a string of witnesses (Refs). Prime Minister Ferrero agreed with this assessment during a 5/3 press conference, stating that the report's conclusions "have no value." Ferrero also suggested that the Villanueva Committee's opposition members were engaged in a political witchhunt, accusing the Committee of ignoring "94 percent" of its assignment, as it only investigated two of the 16 parties that filed signatures to register for the 2000 elections. ¶4. (U) The Villanueva Committee report was submitted to the congressional Directive Council, which forwarded it to the Constitutional Affairs Committee to determine if it was adopted in accordance with congressional regulations. The Chairman of that committee, Aurelio Pastor (APRA),told the press on 5/3, that his committee would rely on the judgement of Congress' Chief or Staff Jose Elice on this question. Elice earlier went on record that congressional regulations do indeed require a majority-plus-one to establish a committee quorum, and that this means four legislators are needed on a five-member committee. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: The Villanueva Committee has been mired in controversy from the start, and it is not/not surprising that its "final report" should continue this trend. While the individual opposition legislators who signed off on the report concluded that there was a massive forgery of signatures and high-level GOP complicity in the temporary flight of a key witness, and sought to hold Toledo responsible for these acts, the opposition parties themselves have demonstrated no/no interest in pursuing these charges against the President, at least at this time. APRA leader Alan Garcia, for example, on 5/3 called on the political class to respect Toledo's constitutional term in office. Consequently, it remains likely that the report will be archived for the present, but that its conclusions, and the concurrent criminal investigations into the forged signature and witness tampering allegations, will resurface to haunt Toledo after he leaves office. END COMMENT. STRUBLE