Last Tuesday, October 28, Peruvians showed their disagreement because the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (Reniec) published the personal data of citizens on the web platform of the Election Registry 2026. Despite people’s discomfort, Reniec He noted that this is “a legal, mandatory and transparent step” established by the Organic Law of Elections – LOE (Law No. 26859).
On the subject, The Republic was able to access Bill No. 497/2017-CR, published on the Parliament portal, presented by the former congresswoman of Popular Force, Rosa Bartraon October 28, 2016, 4 months after Keiko Fujimori lost the election with Pedro Pablo Kuckzynski.
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In said document, the former legislator proposed modifying article 198 of the LOE. The initiative stated that the Reniec “publishes the initial register through its institutional portal and, in those places with poor internet coverage, through lists of the initial registry that are placed in their District Offices, in a visible place.” That is, it would become virtual through the entity’s platform.
It is important to highlight that the original rule dating from 1997 established the following: “The National Registry of Identification and Civil Status publishes lists of the initial registry that are placed in its District Offices in a visible place, after the registration closes.” In short, that The initial registry is only placed in the offices of each district of the entity.
In detail, the first vote on September 20, 2017, which gave approval to the initiative, was supported by 72 votes in favor, 2 against and 23 abstentions. In addition, he was exempt from the second vote with the approval of 71 parliamentarians. Almost the total number of votes, belonging to the Fujimori party, who was then, obtained 73 seats.
However, the rule was observed by the former PPK president on October 18, 2017. It is important to highlight that what was presented by legislator Bartra was not objected to, but rather what her colleagues proposed in the package of bills that were attached. Despite this, the law was published on the 20th of the same month through Law No. 30673 in the official newspaper El Peruano.
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This information coincides with the statement released by Reniec on October 29, which indicates that, since 2017, “in accordance with the Law” it has been published “on the institutional website.” That is, from this approval, the initial electoral roll is disseminated on the internet.
On the other hand, criticism from citizens aggravated the situation because the disclosure of data such as names, surnames, ID and home addresses occurs in the midst of a high wave of crime and extortion that the Peru. For this reason, the population showed their concern when seeing their data on the internet.
National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data announces supervision after dissemination of the registry
Through a statement, the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (ANPD) of Ministry of Justice warned that the Organic Law of Elections (LOE) establishes that personal data, such as addresses or fingerprints, should not be disseminated or delivered publicly. “These data are protected due to their personal nature and their disclosure could violate the privacy of citizens,” he said.
In this sense, the ANPD announced that it has initiated supervision to verify compliance with the personal data protection law by Reniec. According to the authority, this occurs “with regard to the observance of the principles of finality and proportionality.”
In addition, the ANPD called attention to Reniec by indicating that the initial registry list disseminated “allows access to information from other people, in addition to that of the citizen who makes the query, which could exceed the limits of advertising established by the norm.”
Fact
In 2021, after he lost the Elections for the third time, Fuerza Popular presented a habeas data to the Judiciary in order for the ONPE to deliver the lists of people who voted in the second round against Pedro Castillo with signature and fingerprint information.
At that time, after the electoral defeat, an alleged “electoral fraud” was reported, despite the fact that international observers indicated that the elections were carried out correctly.
Ombudsman urges Reniec to guarantee protection of personal data after massive leak
The entity led by Joshua Gutierrez urged the Reniec to focus on safeguarding confidential information, after it was discovered that voters’ personal data were accessible to any individual who possessed the DNI number of the citizen consulted.
“When reviewing this platform, we have noticed that it shows sensitive personal information, such as home address, fingerprint and identification photograph. We remember that this data is protected by theLaw No. 29733Personal Data Protection Law, so they must be kept confidential,” said the Ombudsman’s Office.
“The General Directorate of Transparency, Access to Public Information and Protection of Personal Data of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights determined that, although the electoral roll is public, there is a restriction on information related to address and fingerprint,” he said.
