Less than three months before the general elections, the latest national survey carried out by Ipsos to Peru21 evidence that, except for the sustained drop in the intention to vote for the presidential candidate for Perú Primero, Mario Vizcarra—from 8% in October to 3% in January—, there is no major variation in the electorate’s support for the candidates who occupy the first two places: Rafael López Aliaga, from Renovación Popular, and Keiko Fujimori from Fuerza Popular. As in December, both continue to register support of 10% and 7%, respectively.
The executive director of Proética, José Luis Gargurevich, said that the fluctuations that we will see in the electoral polls in the coming weeks “will also demonstrate the level of information that voters have about their candidates.”
In that scenario, he said, “we will surely see changes,” like the one experienced by Mario Vizcarra, who would have been somehow confused with his brother Martín. Let us remember that in September, another Ipsos study revealed that 71% expressed their support for Mario in the belief that their support was for the disqualified former president.
“The confusion that exists regarding both brothers has to do with the lack of information and similar cases will surely occur. What this requires of us voters is to inform ourselves much more about the candidates in terms of background, records, their past, the management of their interests and those of their parties, but also that the media help and contribute to providing reliable and truthful information,” he said.
In interview with Peru21Gargurevich added that the National Election Jury “should be very rigorous in the information it gives about the candidates so that it does not have to be the press that, through its investigations and uncoverings, tells us who they are.”
Blank vote
The executive director of Proética, in addition, dedicated special attention to the analysis of the option of blank, flawed or none voting, which amounts to 29% at the national level.
“We must take the temperature of what the option of the white vote means, flawed, none that also has to do with a distance, a disaffection of citizens with the possibility of their vote having a real impact,” he noted.
He explained that what has happened in recent years in terms of “presidential vacancies and taunts between the different powers of the State, has given citizens the feeling that their vote has no real impact in democratic terms because regardless of the president who is elected, Congress can ultimately end up lowering any of those elected.”
“There is a feeling of uselessness in the vote that we must be able to correct. It is a task that we all have to impose on ourselves, reaffirm that the vote is important and that vote by vote we all become responsible for bringing the best cadres to be authorities. The blank vote seems to mean more of a “it is worthless”; that level of temperature measurement seems interesting to me to explore further and analyze,” he concluded.
Subscribe for free to the most prestigious Gastronomic Guide in the country. SUMMUM, the weekly newsletter. http://bit.ly/4imAPEI
