Overview of Peru's 2006 Presidential Election

The Washington Post recently ran an article that provides a thorough summary of the 2006 presidential elections in Peru. It covers the three major candidates--the incongruous, leftist, autocratic-leaning, former military commander Ollanta Humala; elitist, pro-business, potential first woman president in Peru Lourdes Flores; and former disastrous president Alan Garcia (Sendero Luminoso, economic crisis, and opening the way for Alberto Fujimori are his hallmarks)--as well as their parties and how they might fare in the legislative elections.

The Post also ran a second article analyzing Ollanta Humala in greater depth. One interesting fact brought up in the article is that Peru has compulsory voter laws. With indigenous and rural Peruvians being heavily wooed by Humala and the fact that these groups are often excluded from pre-election polls, their votes are going to have a huge impact on this election.