Peru’s Presidential Debate Chaos Exposes Electoral Weaknesses Amid Record 36 Candidates

As Peru prepares for its upcoming presidential election on April 12, the sheer number of candidates—36 in total—is not just a sign of political diversity but a glaring symptom of deep systemic dysfunction. The National Jury of Elections (JNE) has had to split the debates into two separate sessions over two weeks, highlighting how an unmanageable candidate pool threatens to undermine voters' ability to make informed decisions. Can Voters Truly Navigate a Field This Crowded? The JNE’s solution—to organize debates across six days with groups of twelve candidates each—is unprecedented worldwide and raises urgent concerns. Does such fragmentation serve democracy...