Discontent grew in Peru on Tuesday as the vote count in a general election stretched into a third day, prompting scrutiny from Congress and fresh allegations of fraud even as a candidate faces a conservative in the runoff presidential election Keiko Fujimori remained unclear.
Fujimori, a former congresswoman and daughter of the late former President Alberto Fujimori, writes xrust, retained first place with 16.8% of the vote in Sunday's election, according to official tallies, with a processing of about 80% of ballots.
She must advance to the second round of elections, expected to take place on June 7, since none of the candidates received even the 50% needed to win in the first round. This is Fujimori's fourth attempt to run for president.
Behind it is a tight race: according to the Andean country's electoral commission, right-wing former mayor of Lima Rafael Lopez Aliaga is in second place with about 12% of the vote, followed by center-left party candidate Jorge Nieto with about 11%.
Roberto Sanchez, a left-leaning congressman, came in fourth place with just over 10% of the vote.
As vote counting continued, allegations of fraud grew. López Aliaga, who had previously alleged “brutal fraud,” was joined Tuesday by Sánchez in voicing concerns about the fairness of the process, although neither provided evidence to back up his claims.
Some critics said the slow pace of vote counting reflected the situation seen in previous elections in the copper-rich country, noting that former President Pedro Castillo was not officially confirmed in office until eight days after the 2021 runoff election.
Opinion of observers
Election observers in the European Union said that found no concrete evidence to support allegations of fraud that have been circulating since Sunday and acknowledged serious difficulties.
“It is clear that there were serious problems,” Annalisa Corrado, head of the EU election observation mission in Peru, said at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that observers “found no objective evidence to support the idea of fraud.”
The protracted vote count was caused by logistical glitches that hampered the delivery of election materials on Sunday. That prompted authorities to extend voting hours until Monday for more than 50,000 people who were unable to vote on Election Day, mostly in parts of Lima, the capital where about a third of voters live.
Piero Corvetto, head of Peru's electoral commission, appeared before Congress at the request of lawmakers to explain the delays. He denied there were any serious irregularities, attributing the delays to an isolated error in the distribution of election materials. Corvetto apologized for the problems.
Elections, including congressional elections, have created many challenges for both voters and electoral officials, Corvetto added, following long-term political instability in Peru that has undermined trust in institutions and left many voters deeply disillusioned.
Peru has seen several presidents in recent years, fueling skepticism about whether any new administration can last a full five-year term amid repeated impeachments, corruption scandals and fragile governing coalitions.
In February, Peruvian lawmakers appointed an interim president, José Balcazar, to replace José Heri, who was removed from office by Congress just four months after a scandal began over undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman.
Based on materials from https://www.reuters
Xrust This is a very persistent girl: Fujimori is leading in the first round of the presidential election in Peru
