Peru: Scandal Involves Montesinos in Keiko Fujimori Maneuver
The controversial figure of Vladimiro Montesinos, the notorious advisor of the former president of Peru Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), responsible for the creation of a gigantic network of corruption that monopolized the Peruvian State in the 90s, has reappeared in the midst of Keiko Fujimori’s attempt to overturn her defeat in the recently held presidential elections, reported EFE.
Some leaked recordings supposedly featuring the voice of Montesinos have come to light, where he is heard allegedly coordinating the bribery of three of the four magistrates of the National Elections Jury (JNE), the highest electoral authority of Peru.
The recordings were presented by former congressman Fernando Olivera, the same person who in 2000 uncovered the famous Vladivideos: a series of films made by Montesinos which were recorded at the headquarters of the intelligence service (SIN) and that registered the incidents in which Montesinos bribed a series of politicians, magistrates and journalists.
In Olivera’s recordings of a series of phone calls, Montesinos is apparently trying to coordinate, from a jail where he is serving a 25-year prison sentence, to monetarily bribe the majority of the plenary of judges of the JNE, the highest electoral body of Peru, which will review the electoral appeals presented by Keiko Fujimori.
Montesinos’ objective was to supposedly bribe the JNE to accept all the appeals presented by Keiko Fujimori, to annul about 200,000 votes from rural, Andean and poor areas where her rival, president-elect Pedro Castillo, obtained overwhelming support. Montesinos tried to carry out this scheme so that although many of Fujimori’s requests were presented after the deadline, they got accepted.
To coordinate the briberies, Montesinos allegedly used a landline phone from the maximum security prison of the Callao Naval Base where he is serving his sentence, and this allegation has not been denied by the Peruvian Navy so far.
The link to JNE
Apparently, the recordings were made by retired military officer Pedro Rejas Tataje, who is close to the Fujimori family, and whom Montesinos ordered to contact Guillermo Sendón in order to be able to reach the JNE magistrates.
In another recording made with a hidden camera, Sendón is seen affirming that magistrate Luis Arce had asked him for $3 million for each of the magistrates who are supposed to vote in favor of accepting all of Keiko Fujimori’s appeals.
Sendón acknowledged the veracity of the conversations in a video posted on his social media accounts on Thursday night, but claimed that he was only ”going with the flow” to find out if an electoral fraud had really happened.
Last Friday, the JNE plenary did try to give the Fujimorista party Fuerza Popular an extended special period to present all the appeals to annul votes, at the request of Magistrate Arce.
However, within hours, when that decision had been reported by the media without it having been promulgated yet, the electoral body retracted it with the argument that it had not taken into account a ruling of the Constitutional Court that prohibits changing the dates in the electoral process.
Awaiting proclamation
On June 23, Arce resigned from the JNE plenary session after several of Fujimori’s appeals were rejected in their second and last instance, which set a precedent for other appeals presented by the right-wing candidate in which she alleges, without having provided reliable evidence, that there was a ”systematic fraud” taking place at the polls.
Fujimori started complaining of fraud the day after the elections were held on June 6, when her third consecutive defeat in a presidential election had started to become evident.
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The JNE’s review of Fujimori’s demands is still preventing an official proclamation of Castillo as president. Castillo beat right-wing Fujimori by over 44,000 votes.
The allegations of fraud have been ruled out by the electoral observation missions that supervised the process, including the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (UNIORE), as well as by Peruvian organizations, such as the Civil Transparency Association and the Ombudsman’s Office.
Moreover, the European Union, the United States and Canada have endorsed the results of the Peruvian elections, and have described the electoral process as fair, free and transparent.
Featured Image: Keiko Fujimori could face new charges in the Peruvian courts. File Photo
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
