Foreign Assistance: Peru on Track for Free and Fair Elections but Faces
Major Challenges (Testimony, 03/14/2001, GAO/GAO-01-496T).

The Peruvian government has acted decisively to address the serious
problem that affected last year's elections. President Paniagua's
administration has committed itself to ensuring the neutrality of the
government and the armed forces during the upcoming elections, including
prohibiting the use of government resources for political purposes.
Also, the government named new leaders to two electoral agencies--those
responsible for overseeing and implementing the elections--and these
leaders have emphasized their full commitment to conducting free and
fair elections. The Agency for International Development's
election-related assistance has been timely, responsive, and coordinated
with other donors, and has been responsive to Peru's needs by funding
electoral observation efforts before and during the elections;
supporting technical assistance efforts to the Peruvian electoral
agencies; and funding the delivery of election-related information to
voters, journalists, candidates, and political parties. In addition, the
agency has coordinated its election-related assistance with the other
international donors that are also helping Peru hold democratic
elections in 2001. While Peru appears to be on track to conduct free and
fair elections in 2001, Peru faces several important challenges over the
next 3-1/2 weeks before the first round of elections, including the
changes in leadership, hiring of temporary workers, and educating voters
as to the changes to the electoral system.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  GAO-01-496T
     TITLE:  Foreign Assistance: Peru on Track for Free and Fair
	     Elections but Faces Major Challenges
      DATE:  03/14/2001
   SUBJECT:  Federal aid to foreign countries
	     Public officials
	     Elections
	     Political corruption
	     Foreign governments
	     Political candidates
IDENTIFIER:  Peru

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GAO-01-496T

FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

Peru on Track for Free and Fair Elections but Faces Major Challenges

Statement of Susan S. Westin, Managing Director International Affairs and
Trade

United States General Accounting Office

GAO Testimony Before the Committee on International Relations,

Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery Expected at 2 p. m., EST Wednesday, March 14, 2001

GAO- 01- 496T

Page 1 GAO- 01- 496T Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

I am pleased to have the opportunity today to discuss the results of our
review of U. S. assistance to Peru's efforts to conduct free and fair
presidential and congressional elections in 2001.

As you know, last year's Peruvian presidential and congressional elections
were considered flawed by Peruvian and international observers. The
organizations observing the elections, including the Organization of
American States, shared the view that the repeated irregularities in the
electoral process prevented the Peruvian citizenry from participating in
credible democratic elections. As a result, President Alberto Fujimori began
his third presidential term under a cloud of illegitimacy in late July 2000.

In September 2000, President Fujimori's hold on power began to crumble, with
the release of videotapes depicting the widespread corruption affecting the
Fujimori administration. Further events last fall led to the November
congressional ousting of Fujimori, the installation of an interim government
headed by President Valentin Paniagua, and preparations for a new round of
elections. These new presidential and congressional elections will take
place on April 8, 2001, with the likely second round between the top two
presidential candidates taking place in May 2001. The new Peruvian President
and congress will assume power in late July 2001.

In order to support President Paniagua's efforts to remedy past election
abuses and strengthen the electoral process, the United States, through the
U. S. Agency for International Development, is providing $7 million in
election- related assistance to Peru. At your request, we (1) identified the
steps the current Peruvian government has taken to ensure a free and fair
electoral process in Peru; (2) reviewed the U. S. election- related
assistance to Peru to determine whether it had been timely, responsive, and
coordinated with other donors; and (3) identified some of the major
challenges that Peru faces before the first round of presidential and
congressional elections.

Page 2 GAO- 01- 496T We based our work on interviews with officials from the
Peruvian government, including

the three Peruvian electoral agencies and the Ombudsman's Office (Defensoria
del Pueblo); members of the news media and public opinion research
organizations; leaders from civic, business, and religious institutions;
representatives from the State Department, the U. S. Agency for
International Development, and the U. S. embassy and agency's mission in
Peru; officials from other bilateral and multilateral donor organizations;
and representatives from organizations implementing international election-
related assistance to support electoral observation efforts, fund technical
assistance efforts, and support the delivery of electoral information. We
also reviewed key documents assessing the April 2000 Peruvian elections and
describing the U. S. and other donors' election- related assistance for the
2001 elections. We visited Peru for 2 weeks, from February 11 to February
24, 2001, and we updated the information collected in Peru by following up
on contacts made in Washington, D. C., and Peru.

SUMMARY The Peruvian government has acted decisively to address the serious
problems that affected last year's elections. The Paniagua administration
has committed itself to ensuring the neutrality of the government and the
armed forces during the upcoming elections, including prohibiting the use of
government resources for political purposes. Also, the government named new
leaders to two electoral agencies-- those responsible for overseeing and
implementing the elections-- and these leaders have emphasized their full
commitment to conducting free and fair elections.

The U. S. Agency for International Development's election- related
assistance has been timely, responsive, and coordinated with other donors.
For example, the agency has expeditiously programmed and disbursed its
election- related assistance to support various aspects of the electoral
process. The agency's election- related assistance has also been responsive
to Peru's needs by funding electoral observation efforts before and during
the elections; supporting technical assistance efforts to the Peruvian
electoral agencies; and funding the delivery of election- related
information to voters, journalists,

Page 3 GAO- 01- 496T candidates, and political parties. In addition, the
agency has coordinated its electionrelated

assistance with the other international donors, such as Canada and the
European Union, that are also helping Peru hold democratic elections in
2001.

While Peru appears to be on track to conduct free and fair elections in
2001, Peru faces several important challenges over the next 3- 1/ 2 weeks
before the first round of elections. Specifically, these challenges involve
the following issues.

The two electoral agencies responsible for, respectively, overseeing and
implementing the elections have experienced major changes in leadership and
staffing. These new leaders and staff are working hard to overcome their
inexperience in overseeing and conducting national elections.

The electoral agency responsible for implementing the elections will
continue to face very tight time frames for preparing voting materials,
distributing and collecting ballots and related documents, arranging for the
development and testing of computer systems for tabulating and transmitting
voting results, getting ready for processing voting information on election
day, and releasing information on the results of the vote.

The two electoral agencies responsible for overseeing and implementing the
elections are in the process of hiring about 15,000 temporary workers. These
personnel need to be screened, trained, and put in place throughout the
country.

Because these two electoral agencies had initially disagreed on the nature
and extent of oversight that one exercises over the other, these agencies
have to ensure that potential disagreements do not interfere with the work
of these institutions. Recent reports note an increasing level of
cooperation between the leaders of these electoral agencies.

Page 4 GAO- 01- 496T These two electoral agencies need to educate as many as
15 million voters on the

recent changes to the electoral system and on how to vote their choices on
complicated multiparty and multidistrict ballots.

The presidential and congressional candidates face a major difficulty in
getting their messages to the Peruvian public, because public attention is
focused on the daily unveiling of videotapes depicting the corruption that
permeated the Fujimori regime.

BACKGROUND Peru's April 2000 elections took place amid a climate of
intimidation and corruption that favored the campaign of President Fujimori.
Opposition candidates for the presidency and for congress were harassed by
the government- controlled media and by government agencies, including tax
authorities. Several organizations involved in observing the 2000 Peruvian
elections, such as the Organization of American States; the National
Democratic Institute/ Carter Center; and Transparencia, a Peruvian
nongovernmental organization, documented the many abuses of the Fujimori
administration's conduct of the election. The National Democratic Institute/
Carter Center considered the election to be “among the worst ever
observed in this hemisphere.”

Although President Fujimori assumed his third term of office in July 2000,
his hold on power began to crumble in mid- September 2000 with the release
of a videotape revealing an effort to bribe a member of the Peruvian
congress. Vladimiro Montesinos, the chief of the National Intelligence
Service, had made this and hundreds of other videotapes of high- ranking
Peruvian government officials, members of the media, businessmen, and
private citizens. Many of these tapes documented the corruption that
permeated the Fujimori administration, such as attempts to blackmail or
bribe some of these individuals. Montesinos left Peru for Panama in
September 2000. After returning to Peru in late October, Montesinos went
into hiding and is believed to have left the country. While visiting Japan
in late November, President Fujimori resigned from the presidency. The
Peruvian congress rejected his resignation and voted to remove him from
office.

Page 5 GAO- 01- 496T Valentin Paniagua succeeded to the presidency on
November 22, 2000. Also, the

Peruvian congress, responding to the popular demand for democratic
elections, passed a constitutional reform and a related electoral law in
November 2000 scheduling new presidential and congressional elections for
April 8, 2001. If no presidential candidate wins over 50 percent of the
vote, a second round of elections will take place between the top two
presidential candidates in May 2001. The new Peruvian President will assume
power on July 28, 2001.

Peru has three electoral agencies-- the National Elections Tribunal (Jurado
Nacional de Elecciones, JNE), the National Office for Electoral Processes
(Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales, ONPE), and the National Registry
of Identification and Civil Status (Registro Nacional de Identificacion y
Estado Civil, RENIEC). The JNE is responsible for overseeing the entire
electoral process, including administering justice on electoral matters,
maintaining a registry of political organizations, inscribing political
candidates, and proclaiming the winners of elections. The ONPE is
responsible for organizing and implementing elections, including preparing
and distributing ballots and related voting materials, running the elections
on election day, and reporting information on the results of the elections.
The RENIEC is responsible for preparing the electoral registry; issuing
national identification cards; and registering births, deaths, and
marriages.

In response to the new opportunity for Peru to conduct credible presidential
and congressional elections, the United States and other international
donors began supporting efforts to help Peru conduct free and fair
elections. Since December 2000, the United States has provided $7 million to
Peru for holding free and fair elections in 2001, more than half of the
international assistance provided to Peru for this purpose. The European
Union and various European countries have provided the second largest amount
of election- related assistance to Peru. (See app. I.)

The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through various
implementing organizations, has provided this $7 million in election-
related assistance to Peru. (See app. II.) Specifically, about half of this
assistance funds technical assistance for the two

Page 6 GAO- 01- 496T main Peruvian electoral agencies, the JNE and the ONPE.
Another third of the

assistance supports electoral observation activities conducted by both
Peruvian and international organizations. The remaining U. S. assistance
funds electoral information activities conducted by Peruvian organizations
in support of voters, journalists, political candidates, and political
parties. (See app. III for a description of selected organizations mentioned
in this statement.)

PERU HAS TAKEN MEASURES NEEDED TO CONDUCT FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN 2001

Peru's political environment has fundamentally improved since last year's
election period, as a result of the collapse of the Fujimori administration
and the actions taken by the Paniagua administration and the Peruvian
congress since late November 2000.

The Paniagua administration is committed to ensuring the neutrality of the
government and the armed forces during the elections. For example, the
Paniagua administration forbade the use of public office or government
resources for political purposes. Also, President Paniagua removed many
high- ranking military officers and government officials from their
positions due to their allegiance to the Fujimori regime and in order to
ensure his control over the government.

The Peruvian government replaced the heads of the two major electoral
agencies, which are in charge of overseeing and implementing the elections,
because these agencies had played a central part in last year's election
abuses. The new head of the electoral agency in charge of implementing the
elections (the ONPE) subsequently fired about 80 percent of the agency's 200
permanent staff. According to Peruvian media representatives, these
restructured electoral agencies are more trusted by the electorate.

To strengthen the rule of law, President Paniagua replaced the Attorney
General and emphasized the independence of the Attorney General position.
The government of Peru also reinstated three justices of the Constitutional
Tribunal who had been removed from

Page 7 GAO- 01- 496T office because they opposed a law authorizing President
Fujimori to seek a third term.

In addition, the Peruvian government addressed various deficiencies of the
justice system, such as eliminating the use of temporary judges who had
seriously compromised the independence of the judiciary.

Also, a special congressional commission and an independent prosecutor began
investigating the illicit activities carried out by the Fujimori
administration. They have paid special attention to the hundreds of
videotapes that were seized from Vladimiro Montesino's house (referred to as
“Vladivideos”). Tapes have been released almost daily and played
on television for everyone to see.

In addition, the Paniagua administration and the Peruvian congress have
improved the electoral legislation. To increase the representation of local
interests in the congress, congressional representatives will now be
selected not from a single district, but from 25 electoral districts. The
proportion of women candidates legally required on party lists per district
increased from 25 percent to 30 percent. Also, all political parties and
groups participating in the elections are receiving 10 free minutes per day
on the broadcast media during the 60 days preceding election day, with
government funds covering the cost of the free time.

Moreover, in contrast to last year's election period, the government is
providing no direction and exercising no influence over the news media,
according to all our contacts in Peru. The government also returned
television channels 2 and 13, which had opposed the Fujimori regime, to
their rightful owners.

However, we met with numerous observers who were concerned about the
potential for remnants of the Fujimori regime to influence the election
atmosphere and results. In particular, these observers expressed concerns
that Montesinos' domestic network would try to find ways to discredit or
sabotage the elections.

Page 8 GAO- 01- 496T For these reasons, we would describe the current
political atmosphere in Peru as

improved but somewhat uneasy about possible threats from remnants of the
Fujimori regime. In this context, the presence of the international donor
community serves to contribute to the stability of the interim
administration and the conduct of free and fair elections.

U. S. ELECTION- RELATED ASSISTANCE TO PERU HAS BEEN TIMELY, RESPONSIVE, AND
COORDINATED

The $7 million in U. S. election- related assistance to Peru has been
provided on time, has been responsive to Peruvian needs, and has been
coordinated with other donors.

The United States has provided its election- related assistance to Peru on a
timely basis, according to representatives from the three Peruvian electoral
agencies, other donors providing similar assistance to Peru, and
organizations implementing the U. S. and other donors' assistance. In
December 2000, the electoral agencies responsible for overseeing and
implementing the elections started to get organized. During this period,
USAID started to work with subcontractors to design the needed assistance
efforts. USAID also supported an independent evaluation in late December of
the electoral registry that will be used during the 2001 elections. This
evaluation was requested by the electoral agency responsible for overseeing
the electoral process, and it was conducted by a Peruvian nongovernmental
organization funded by USAID. Based on this review, officials from the
electoral agencies are confident that the electoral registry is adequate and
comparable to electoral registries used in other countries in the region.

In January 2001, while the two electoral agencies responsible for
respectively overseeing and implementing the elections were undertaking
major reorganization efforts, USAID started to provide technical assistance
to both agencies. USAID began providing the bulk of its technical assistance
to these agencies through two international contractors in February 2001.
Later that month, USAID provided additional funding for technical assistance
directly to the ONPE. Although USAID was ready to start providing the

Page 9 GAO- 01- 496T funding earlier, the agency had to delay delivering
this funding until the ONPE had all the

required internal controls and qualified staff in place, according to U. S.
and Peruvian officials.

U. S. officials noted that the USAID election- related assistance to Peru
had been programmed, approved, and delivered faster than any other USAID
assistance to Peru this year. Officials from other donors' institutions
commended the level and the speed of the election- related assistance that
the United States gave to Peru, highlighting that this U. S. assistance had
been provided much more quickly than the assistance their institutions gave.

The U. S. election- related assistance has been responsive to the current
needs of Peru in the areas of technical assistance, electoral observation,
and electoral information, according to representatives from the three
Peruvian electoral agencies, other donors providing similar assistance to
Peru, and organizations implementing the U. S. and other donors' assistance.
According to these representatives, the United States has provided an
appropriate mix of different types of electoral assistance to Peru. The
technical assistance directly helps the agencies overseeing and conducting
the elections; the electoral information activities benefit the voters; and
the assistance for observation efforts helps ensure the transparency and
legitimacy of the elections.

USAID's $7 million in assistance includes the following: -- $3.3 million in
technical assistance, including

$1.52 million to the ONPE for training pollworkers, educating citizens,
setting up the new Voter Ombudsman in coordination with the Ombudsman's
Office, and setting up the International Cooperation Office to help the ONPE
strengthen its ability to manage donor contributions for the elections. $1.3
million to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems to help the
ONPE in the areas of election administration, information management, and
electoral

Page 10 GAO- 01- 496T education and training. This organization is also
providing limited assistance to the

JNE in the areas of electoral training; design of electoral education
programs and materials; and reconstruction of the computer systems, which
were destroyed in a fire in July 2000. $478,438 to the Centro de Asesoria y
Promocion Electoral to help the JNE carry out its oversight role during the
elections.

-- $2.4 million to support electoral observations, including $767,349 to the
National Democratic Institute/ Carter Center to fund two pre- electoral
assessments, an international observation mission on election day, and a
small, onthe- ground presence during the pre- electoral period. $602,534 to
Transparencia to fund a comprehensive, Peruvian observation effort during
the pre- electoral period, field 20,000 observers on election day, and
conduct a quick count of the results of the presidential race. $600,000 to
the Organization of American States to support an international electoral
observation mission throughout the pre- electoral period and on election
day. $400,000 to the Ombudsman's Office to fund 15 supervision modules/
units around Peru focused on receipt and follow- up of election- related
complaints prior to the elections and election day, and a random supervision
of election day activities.

-- $1.3 million to fund the electoral information activities, including
$429,949 to Promujer to conduct electoral education focused on women and to
promote the participation of women candidates in television programs,
discussion forums, and debates. $394,315 to Servicios Educativos Rurales to
train a network of election promoters who will develop orientation and
electoral education activities and materials in 37 provinces in rural areas.
$294,382 to the Instituto de Dialogo y Propuestas, in collaboration with two
other Peruvian nongovernmental organizations, to fund a national campaign
for responsible

Page 11 GAO- 01- 496T and informed voting through intensive and massive use
of local radio and regional

television networks and a special campaign aimed at younger voters. $189,300
to Transparencia to inform and educate trainers, party pollwatchers,
pollworkers, and election observers from Transparencia in the electoral
process.

The United States has regularly coordinated its election- related assistance
with the other donors. The organizations responsible for implementing the
technical assistance provided by the international community to the two main
Peruvian electoral agencies also coordinate their activities. Since December
2000, a donor coordinating committee has met weekly to coordinate
international election- related assistance efforts. While conducting
fieldwork in Peru, we attended a donor coordinating committee meeting and a
coordinating meeting of the organizations responsible for implementing the
donors' assistance. We observed that the donors were aware of each other's
specific activities and that the donors and the implementing organizations
exchanged information and discussed current issues.

PERU'S ELECTORAL CHALLENGES The challenges facing Peru at this point are
primarily managerial and logistical, although the undercurrent of political
uneasiness about the possible continued influence of Montesinos and his
network affects the election atmosphere.

First Challenge The initial challenge for the new leaders of the electoral
agencies has been the need to learn the day- to- day tasks of how to conduct
elections, while reorganizing their agencies. The new head of the ONPE is a
recognized university professor who is an expert on election systems, but he
first started at the ONPE only on December 8, 2000. He had to fire over 80
percent of the ONPE staff, screen and hire replacement staff, and begin
arranging all the election preparations. The top leadership at the JNE was
also replaced

Page 12 GAO- 01- 496T and has had to decide how to carry out its oversight
role in the electoral process,

because in last year's election the JNE played virtually no oversight role.
Second Challenge A second key challenge facing the new electoral authorities
is the need to adhere to an extremely tight timetable for setting up
electoral processes, preparing voting materials, planning the logistics of
distributing and collecting the ballots, and arranging for the development
and testing of computer software for counting the ballots. Peru is a country
where voting is mandatory for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 70
(with certain exceptions, for example, excluding the military and the police
from voting). It is also a country where its mix of mountainous, jungle, and
coastal terrain presents special logistical problems for conducting
elections. We were told that in numerous areas of the mountains and jungles,
Peruvians may have to walk a full day or more in order to get to a voting
station. And distributing and collecting the ballots to the approximately
90,000 voting stations around Peru is a difficult task that may require the
use of military personnel and vehicles to reach some rural locations. The
ONPE has established its timetable for accomplishing its specific goals, and
while the agency is proceeding on schedule, it has little room in the
schedule to accommodate unexpected delays. We note that the ONPE has built
into this timetable measures designed to help ensure the smooth running of
the elections. These include, for example, provisions for running two
simulations of the vote counting, 1 and 2 weeks before the election, in
order to test the vote tabulation processes, including the new computer
software.

Third Challenge A related, third challenge is the need for the ONPE and the
JNE to hire and train about 15,000 temporary workers to staff their regional
offices around the country and the voting stations and collection points on
election day. These workers are needed only during the election period.
Because last year's elections were so corrupt, the ONPE and the JNE have had
to screen the lists of potential new staff to make sure the new workers

Page 13 GAO- 01- 496T were not involved with previous electoral abuses.
Screening this many new people in

such a short period of time is a difficult task, and there is concern among
observers in Peru that Montesinos' network may still find a way to
infiltrate the electoral processes.

Fourth Challenge A fourth, management- related challenge lies in the need
for the JNE and the ONPE to continue to agree on the nature and extent of
oversight that the former can exercise on the latter, so that no
disagreements emerge that may interfere with the work of these
organizations. The JNE, as the top electoral agency responsible for
announcing the official results of the election, has recently sought to
exercise its oversight responsibilities over the overall electoral process,
including the ONPE's efforts to conduct the elections. Due to the very tight
timetable for this election, the two agencies need to continue working
together closely and cooperatively to accomplish their shared goals
expeditiously.

Fifth Challenge A fifth challenge is to educate up to 15 million voters on
the recent changes to the electoral process and on how to vote their choices
for the presidency and congress. Peru recently moved from a single electoral
district to 25 electoral districts to expand the representation of local
interests. The ballot is a complicated, multiparty ballot with several
choices for the presidency and for the congress. The voter actually votes
for a political party associated with a presidential candidate and a
political party associated with a list of congressional candidates. In the
President's section of the ballot, the voter chooses a President by marking
a party symbol that is next to a picture of the candidate. The ballot does
not have the names of the presidential candidates. In the congress' part of
the ballot, the voter can choose at the most two representatives in most
districts by marking a party symbol that is associated with a party list of
candidates. If the voter wants to pick particular candidates from the party
list, the voter must write in two boxes next to the party symbol the numbers
linked to the names of the candidates in the list.

Page 14 GAO- 01- 496T At a minimum, voters need basic information on where
to vote and how to vote for the

presidency and the congress, in addition to having information about the
candidates. In addition, as oversight and implementing organizations are
aware, special attention is needed to find ways to provide such information
to illiterate and non- Spanish- speaking voters in Peru.

Sixth Challenge Finally, daily revelations of the Fujimori regime's
corruption scandals have made it difficult for the candidates to get the
voters' attention on specific issues important to Peru's future. According
to numerous observers, the frequent release of new videos depicting the
flagrant corruption of the previous regime has heightened public cynicism,
distrust, and alienation. However, the completely different political
climate surrounding this election is evident in all the media and in the
atmosphere of free political expression.

While recognizing the challenges that Peru faces, we are nevertheless
encouraged by the decisive actions of the interim government in promoting an
open political environment and an impartial government approach during the
electoral period. The electoral authorities are regarded as honest and hard
working, and they have sought to meet high standards for the conduct of the
election. Election day may not be free of imperfections, of course, but it
will be important to distinguish between the kind of intentional fraud and
intimidation that arose last year and the type of incidental mistakes that
can arise in any large election. Once the elections take place and are
judged to be fully credible and legitimate, it will be important for Peru's
new government to continue on the path toward strengthening Peru's
democratic institutions. Free and fair elections are only the first step on
this path.

_ _ _ _ _ Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my
prepared testimony. I would be happy to respond to any questions you or
other Members may have.

Page 15 GAO- 01- 496T CONTACT AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For future contacts regarding this testimony, please contact me at (202)
512- 4128. Individuals making key contributions to this testimony included
Virginia Hughes, Juan Tapia- Videla, La Verne Tharpes, and Venecia Kenah.

APPENDIX I APPENDIX I Page 16 GAO- 01- 496T

U. S. AND OTHER DONORS' ELECTION- RELATED ASSISTANCE TO PERU, FISCAL YEAR
2001

Donor Amount Percent of total United States $7,000,000 51.2 European Union
1,661,550 12.2 Germany 1,200,000 a 8.8 United Kingdom 1,000,000 a 7.3 United
Nations 1,000,000 7.3 Canada 500,000 3.6 Japan 500,000 3.6 Switzerland
500,000 3.6 Sweden 111,000 0.8 Spain 100,000 0.7 The Netherlands 65,000 0.5
Finland 25,000 0.2

Total $13,662,550

a These funds are supporting election and other democracy- related efforts
in Peru. Source: GAO analysis of U. S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) data.

APPENDIX II APPENDIX II Page 17 GAO- 01- 496T

USAID ELECTION- RELATED ASSISTANCE TO PERU, FISCAL YEAR 2001

Type of assistance and implementing organization Amount Technical assistance
$3,298,438

Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales 1,520,000 International Foundation
for Election Systems 1,300,000 Centro de Asesoria y Promocion Electoral
478,438 Electoral observation $2,382,673

National Democratic Institute/ Carter Center 767,349 Transparencia 602,534
Organization of American States 600,000 Ombudsman's Office 400,000
Assistance to be determined 12,790 Election information $1,318,889

Promujer 429,949 Servicios Educativos Rurales 394,315 Instituto Dialogo y
Propuestas 294,382 Transparencia 189,300 Assistance to be determined 10,943

Total $7,000,000

Source: GAO analysis of USAID data.

APPENDIX III APPENDIX III Page 18 GAO- 01- 496T

SELECTED LIST AND DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN THE 2001 PERUVIAN
ELECTIONS

Organization Description Centro de Asesoria y Promocion Electoral A
component of the Inter- American

Institute for Human Rights based in Costa Rica that conducts electoral
observation missions, provides technical assistance to electoral agencies,
and disseminates electoral information to the public. Defensoria del Pueblo
(Ombudsman's Office) An autonomous Peruvian government

agency established to protect and defend the constitutional rights of all
Peruvians and to ensure that the state fulfills its responsibilities in
providing services to the public. International Foundation for Election
Systems A U. S. nongovernmental organization that

provides technical assistance for democratic development and good governance
to elections commissions, governmental entities, private institutions, and
civil society organizations. Instituto de Dialogo y Propuestas A Peruvian
nongovernmental organization

dedicated to the promotion of citizen development. Jurado Nacional de
Elecciones (JNE) An autonomous Peruvian government

agency responsible for overseeing the entire electoral process, including
ruling on all matters regarding the election process, maintaining a registry
of political organizations, inscribing political candidates, and proclaiming
the winners of elections. National Democratic Institute/ Carter Center U. S.
nongovernmental organizations that

have conducted more than 100 impartial pre- election, election- day, and
postelection observation missions around the globe. Oficina Nacional de
Procesos Electorales (ONPE) An autonomous Peruvian government

agency responsible for organizing and implementing elections, including
preparing and distributing ballots and related voting materials, running the
elections on election day, and reporting information on the results of the
elections.

APPENDIX III APPENDIX III Page 19 GAO- 01- 496T Promujer A consortium of
four Peruvian

nongovernmental organizations that promote women's political participation
at the national and local levels. Registro Nacional de Identificacion y
Estado Civil (RENIEC) An autonomous Peruvian government

agency responsible for preparing the electoral registry; issuing national
identification cards; and registering births, deaths, and marriages.
Servicios Educativos Rurales A Peruvian nongovernmental organization

that focuses on expanding the opportunities of citizens in rural areas.
Transparencia A Peruvian nongovernmental organization

that focuses on strengthening the electoral legislation and processes and
increasing citizenry participation in elections.

Source: GAO analysis based on information from organizations in the list.
(320014)
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