RECORD 24 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES REGISTERED;

UNCLAS LIMA 000123 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PE SUBJECT: RECORD 24 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES REGISTERED; FUJIMORI'S CANDIDACY REJECTED REF: A. LIMA 5396 (05) ¶B. LIMA 5332 (05) Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) A record 24 parties/alliances met the 1/9 deadline to apply to register their presidential tickets for the April election. Ex-President Alberto Fujimori's bid to head the Si Cumple party ticket was rejected by the Lima Special Electoral Board, but is being appealed to the National Electoral Board (JNE),which is expected to render a decision by the end of the week. End Summary. -------------- TWENTY-FOUR CANDIDATES TO CHOOSE FROM -------------- ¶2. (U) Twenty-four parties/alliances applied to register their presidential candidates with the Lima Special Electoral Board (JEE) by the 1/9 filing deadline for the 4/9 elections. This is the largest number of presidential candidates in Peru's history. The previous high was 18 in 1980; in 2001 there were only eight. The JEE is in the process of reviewing the registration applications, publishing an announcement of each application that meets the legal requirements in the Legal Norms official gazette. Following publication, members of the public have two days in which to submit challenges to a an application. ¶3. (SBU) Alberto Fujimori's party, Si Cumple (He Delivers), sought to register Fujimori as its presidential candidate. The JEE rejected this, in a resolution published on 1/10, which concluded that the 2001 vote by Congress disqualifying Fujimori from holding public office for 10 years also precluded him from running for public office. Si Cumple's leadership vowed to appeal this decision to the National Electoral Board (JNE) and threatened to stage massive public protests. Meanwhile, Alianza por el Futuro (the alliance of pro-Fujimori parties Cambio 90 and Nuevo Mayoria) submitted Congresswoman Martha Chavez as its presidential candidate. Chavez made it clear that she is running as Fujimori's proxy. (COMMENT: This two pronged Fujimorista approach of attempting to run Fujimori on the Si Cumple ticket, while preparing a fall-back candidacy on the Alianza por el Futuro slate has been planned by the Fujimoristas for some time (Ref B). END COMMENT.) ¶5. (SBU) The presidential tickets that have submitted their registration requests are: ;THE MAJOR CANDIDATES -------------- -- Unidad Nacional (National Unity) alliance, headed by Lourdes FLORES Nano. Flores was a Congresswoman in 1990 and 1995 and ran for President in 2001, finishing in third place. The First Vice President candidate is Arturo WOODSMAN Pollit, a businessman and engineer with a long history of public service, most recently heading Peru's successful hosting of the FIFA Under 17 Soccer World Championship. The Second Vice President candidate is Luis Enrique CARPOI Ascuna, Dean of the Catholic University in Arequipa. Unidad Nacional is considered center-right in its political orientation. -- Frente del Centro (Centrist Front) alliance, headed by Valentin PANIAGUA Corazao. Paniagua was the transition President after Fujimori resigned in 2000. He has a long history of public service under other administrations as Minister of Justice and Education and as a former Congressman. The First Vice President candidate is Alberto ANDRADE Carmona, former Mayor of Lima. The Second Vice President candidate is Gonzalo German AGUIRRE Arriz, businessman and Secretary General of the Independent National Coordinating party. The Frente del Centro is considered to be center-left in orientation. -- Partido Aprista Peruano (APRA) headed by Alan GARCIA Perez. Garcia served as President from 1985-90 and ran for President in 2001, finishing second. The First Vice President candidate is Luis GIAMPETRI Rojas, a retired Vice-Admiral. The Second Vice President candidate is Lourdes MENDOZA del Solar the Deputy Mayor of Arequipa. APRA has no easy ideological characterization, being populist in rhetoric but capable of adjusting its policies to the requirements of the moment. -- Partido Nacionalista Uniendo al Peru (Nationalist Party Uniting Peru),formerly Union por el Peru (Union for Peru), headed by Ollanta HUMALA Tasso. (Note: The party registered with the JEE as "Union por el Peru" but subsequently voted to change its name. End Note.) Ollanta Humala is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. He is running as an ultra-nationalist, anti-system candidate aligned with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales. He, along with his brother Antauro (currently on trial for leading the January 2005 rebellion in Andahuaylas that resulted in five deaths),led a small military rebellion against the Fujimori regime in 2000. After spending some time in jail, he was pardoned by the Paniagua interim government, reinstated in the Army, and served under the Toledo Administration as a military attache in Paris and South Korea before being retired in December ¶2004. The First Vice President candidate is Gonzalo Raul GARCIA Nunez, an engineer on the Board of the Central Reserve Bank. The Second Vice President candidate is Carlos Alberto TORRES Caro, a lawyer for the Humala family, who previously served as a prosecutor under, and reportedly had close ties with, pro-Fujimori Attorney General Blanca Nelida Colan. THE MINOR CANDIDATES -------------- -- Alianza para el Progreso (Alliance for Progress): Natale Juan AMPRIMO Pla. Amprimo is a Congressman representing Lima. Formerly with Alberto Andrade's (of the Centrist Front) Somos Peru party, Amprimo renounced that tie in 2005, then failed in efforts to create a new congressional bloc composed of young legislators. He is considered center-left. -- Alianza por el Futuro (Alliance for the Future),Martha CHAVEZ Cossio. Chavez is a long-time Fujimori supporter who recently was absolved of corruption charges and resumed her seat in Congress following a four-year suspension. Her First Vice President running-mate is Santiago FUJIMORI, the ex-President's brother. -- Avanza Pais (Country Advances),Ulises HUMALA Tasso. Ultra-nationalist Ulises Humala is the older brother of Ollanta and Antauro. He is a professor at the National Engineering University. His First Vice Presidential running mate is party founder Pedro CENAS Casamayor. -- Con Fuerza Peru (Peru with Force),Peter KOECHLIN. Koechlin is a businessman and President of Wayra Peru, a new Peruvian airline that has yet to get off the ground. -- Concertacion Descentralista (Decentralized Agreement), Susana Maria del Carmen VILLARAN de la Puente. Villaran is leader of the Social Democracy Party and was Minister of Women's Affairs during the 2000 transition government. She is considered center-left. -- Frente Amplio de Izquierda (Broad Front of the Left), Alberto MORENO Rojas del Rio. This party was formerly the Movimiento Nuevo Izquierda (New Left Movement). Moreno is the founder and Secretary General of the Communist Party of Peru Red Fatherland. His First Vice President candidate is Juan Jose Gorriti Valle, Secretary General of the Workers Confederation of Peru (CGTP). -- Frente Independiente Moralizador party (FIM - Independent Moralizing Front),Fernando OLIVERA Vega. Olivera is leader and founder of the party. He was a Congressman in the 1990's and served under the Toledo Administration as Minister of Justice and Ambassador to Spain. In August 2005, Toledo appointed the un-popular Olivera as Foreign Minister sparking the resignation of his Prime Minister and a cabinet crisis resolved when Olivera was asked to resign after one day in office. Olivera ran for President in 2001 and placed forth with just under 10% of the vote. He is considered center-left. -- Fuerza Democratica (Democratic Force),Alberto Alfonso BOREA Odria. Borea was previously Peru's Ambassador to the Organization of American States and headed the Democractic Forum, an organization that opposed the authoritarian Fujimori regime. He is considered center-left. -- Justicia Nacional (National Justice),Jaime Eduardo SALINAS Lopez-Torres. Salinas is a U.S.-educated businessman who unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Lima in 2002. He and his father, Gen. (R) Jaime Salinas, were detained for attempting a coup against the Fujimori regime. He is considered center-right. -- Partido Socialista (Socialist Party),Javier Diez CANSECO Cisneros. Canseco is a congressman for Lima and leader of the Socialist Party. He is considered to be a pro-Castro Marxist. -- Peru Ahora (Peru Now),Luis GUERRERO Figueroa. Guerrero is a pro-coca congressman from Cajamarca, where he twice served as provincial mayor. He is considered to be a leftist. -- Peru Posible (Peru Possible),Rafael Luis BELAUNDE Aubry. Belaunde is an engineer and the son of former President Fernando Belaunde. He formerly served as a Senator with the Accion Popular (Popular Action) party. His First Vice President candidate is Carlos BRUCE Montes de Oca, former Minister of the Presidency and Minister of Housing under President Toledo. His Second Vice Presidential candidate is Romulo MUCHO Mamani who previously served as Vice-Minister of Energy and Mines and recently became a Congressman representing Puno. Belaunde is a political maverick, and Peru Posible, although President Toledo's party, has not been known for its ideological consistency. -- Progresemos Peru (Peru Let's Progress),Javier ESPINOZA Ayaipoma. Little is known of Espinoza or his party. -- Proyecto Pais (Country Project),Marco Antonio ARRUNATEGUI. Arrunategui ran for President in 2001, but placed seventh garnering less than 1% of the vote. He currently is charged with pedophilia and pimping, but asserts his innocence. -- Reconstrucion Democratica (Democratic Reconstruction), Jose Guillermo Juan CARDO Guarderas. Cardo is a sociologist who has taught for 20 years in Mexico. He failed to register another party, Insurgencia Renovadora (Renewing Insurgence). -- Renacamiento Andino (Andean Rebirth),Ciro Alfredo GALVEZ Herrera. Galvez is a lawyer and the party's founder. He ran for President under the same party in 2001 placing sixth with less than 1% of the votes. -- Restauracion Nacional (National Restoration),Humberto LAY Sun. Lay is an evangelical pastor and former member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. His First Vice President candidate is Maximo San Roman, who served as Alberto Fujimori's First Vice President but split with Fujimori over the 1992 auto-coup. -- Resurgimiento Peruano (Peruvian Resurgence),Antero ASTO Flores - Asto is a lawyer and the party's founder. He unsuccessfully ran for President in 2001. -- Si Cumple (He Delivers),Alberto FUJIMORI Fujimori. Si Cumple, as noted, sought to register former President Alberto Fujimori as its candidate. Should the JNE uphold the JEE's rejection of Fujimori's candidacy, then the party will not/not at this stage be entitled to replace him with another candidate and will not/not run a presidential ticket. -- Y se Llama Peru (And It is Called Peru). Ricardo WONG. Wong is the party founder and a businessman who imports fireworks. He was linked to the fireworks that led to the Mesa Redonda fire that resulted in the death of over 200 people. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The plethora of presidential candidates has generated criticism from politicians and commentators alike, who note that it reflects the disunity of the political class, as well as the disorganization and lack of representativeness of the traditional political parties. Given that parties must obtain at least four percent of the legislative vote in order to maintain their registration, it is expected that most of the smaller parties will disappear after the 4/9 election. The electoral prospects for the registered candidates should become clearer after publication of the next nationwide APOYO poll on 1/15. Additional biographic data on some of these candidates is available on Post's SIPRNET site http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/lima/index.cf m . END COMMENT. STRUBLE