My ID card (DNI) with its sticker indicating that I voted.

It’s election day in Peru!

This congressional election was called when the current president, Martin Vizcarra, used his constitutional authority to close congress after the congress took actions that allowed the president to close the congress.  It’s rather complicated, and someone else can explain it better than I.  Vizcarra became president when PPK was forced to resign.

The importance for me, personally, is that it is my first time voting in Peru.  Now that I am a Peruvian citizen, it is my obligation to vote; I have to vote or pay a fine.

When you vote in Peru, you vote for a party.  There are 21 political parties on the ballot today.  After you choose the party, you can, if you want, choose two candidates by number.  What you cannot do is choose candidates from different parties.  Using the electronic voting machine, it is impossible to choose candidates from different parties.  (I used an electronic machine at my polling place.)  Using a paper ballot, choosing two parties makes your vote null.

We should know by tomorrow some of the results.

By the way, alcohol cannot be sold from 8:00 AM on Saturday until 8:00 AM on Monday during weekend elections, which are always held on a Sunday.