After the close of voting in the 2026 General Elections, polling station officials begin the vote count, a process in which ballots are tallied, electoral records are completed, and the information is sent to computing centers for the progressive publication of results.
The doors of polling stations close at 5:00 p.m. (local time). However, people who are still inside the polling place waiting in line will be allowed to finish voting.
Afterwards, polling station officials review the voter list to determine how many people took part in the vote—a figure that is entered in the voting record.
According to the instruction manual for polling station officials issued by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), the next step is to organize polling station materials and open the ballot box to begin the vote count.
At this stage, the ballots are counted and the votes are classified as valid, null, or blank. The results are entered in the counting records—the official document that contains the outcome for each polling station.
Transfer of records
Once the vote count is completed, the records are placed in special envelopes and handed over to personnel in charge of the electoral process for transfer to collection points of the Decentralized Offices of Electoral Processes (ODPE).
According to the procedure established by ONPE, the material will be taken to the 126 computing centers installed across the country. There, the records are registered, organized, and scanned to incorporate the information into the system that consolidates the results.
As the records arrive at the computing centers and are processed, the results begin to be released progressively.
The information is updated through periodic reports, allowing the national count's progress to be reflected as records from different polling stations are received and validated.
This electoral process will allow Peruvians to go to the polls to elect the next President of the Republic, Vice Presidents, Senators, Deputies, and Representatives to the Andean Parliament.
The General Elections will be held on April 12, 2026, with a potential runoff for the presidential race scheduled for June 7 of the same year.
(END) ETA/CVC/MVB
Published: 3/16/2026