Peru's President Alberto Fujimori may be fighting for his political life, but he maintains his flair for the dramatic. Last week, he personally led a manhunt for Mr. Vladimiro Montesinos, the former head of the National Intelligence Service, who returned to Peru after fleeing the country on the heels of a bribery scandal. The search was unsuccessful. Mr. Montesinos remains at large, and Mr. Fujimori's government remains shaky. But it is more important than ever that the government's priorities do not change: Peru's new elections must proceed as planned and respect for democracy is essential.

Mr. Fujimori and Mr. Montesinos have a curious relationship. The former intelligence chief has been the president's right-hand man throughout his 10 years in office and reportedly facilitated the president's rise to power and ensured that he stayed there. Mr. Montesinos allegedly controlled the military and could command its loyalty. That power became a threat when the president and Mr. Montesinos split earlier this year.

The intelligence chief had long dodged charges that he was a CIA informant, a human-rights abuser and an arms smuggler. He was brought low in September, when he was captured on videotape bribing an opposition legislator to support the government. That bombshell forced Mr. Fujimori, who had just a won a third term in an election marred by charges of fraud allegedly engineered by Mr. Montesinos, to announce he would cut short his term and call another vote in which he would not run.