David Samanez Ocampo

David Samanez Ocampo (4 November 1865 – 13 July 1947)¹, was a Peruvian politician who was Interim President of Peru (officially as the President of the Southern Junta) in 1931.^[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Samanez and the second or maternal family name is Ocampo.

David Samanez Ocampo
Interim President of Peru (President of the Southern Junta)
In office March 11, 1931 – December 8, 1931
Preceded by	Gustavo Jiménez
Succeeded by	Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro
Personal details
Born	November 4, 1865 Andahuaylas, Peru
Died	July 13, 1947 (aged 81) Cuzco, Peru
Military service
Allegiance	Peru
Battles/wars	Peruvian Civil War (1894–5)

He oversaw changes to the electoral statutes that effectively brought the vote to the masses, leading to the critical – if highly controversial – presidential election of December 1931, when Sánchez Cerro defeated Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre. Instrumental in his appointment was his reputation and high prestige among politicians of all factions.

He was the son of José Samanez.

Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro, after becoming Interim President of Peru (President of the Southern Junta).

Democratic Party

Ocampo entered politics at an early age, joining the Democratic Party.^[2]

Revival of Electoral Law

One of the widely appreciated achievement of Samanez-Ocampo's eight-month presidency was the revival of the electoral laws.^[2] This he did by drafting a special committee composed of the likes of, among others, Luis E. Valcárcel, Jorge Basadre Grohmann and Luis Alberto Sanchez. The committee established the secret ballot system and introduced provisions for the representation of minorities in the electoral system. The committee also introduced technological innovations to the electoral system, ridding it of the many redundancies.