Pressure mounts on Peru’s election authorities amid presidential race delay
TL;DR
Pressure is increasing on Peru's electoral authority amid delays and irregularities in the presidential vote count. No clear challenger has emerged to face frontrunner Keiko Fujimori as the election results remain uncertain.
Key points
- Pressure on Peru's electoral authority is increasing.
- Delays and irregularities are affecting the presidential vote count.
- Keiko Fujimori is the conservative frontrunner.
- Roberto Sanchez and Rafael Lopez Aliaga are close in the race for second place.
Mentioned in this story
Calls to remove the head of Peru’s electoral authority have intensified as delays and alleged irregularities clouded the presidential vote count.
As of Friday, no clear challenger has emerged to face conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori in the June 7 run-off.
The general election was held on Sunday, but an extension was granted to accommodate for the difficulties in ballot distribution.
Pressure has mounted against the head of Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Piero Corvetto. Complaints over errors and logistical problems during Sunday’s election have been compounded by a slow tally that has rattled investor confidence and heightened uncertainty.
According to the ONPE, leftist Roberto Sanchez and ultraconservative former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga remain locked in a close battle for second place, separated by about 13,000 votes as of Friday.
With 93.3 percent of the ballots counted, Sanchez held 12.0 percent of the vote and Lopez Aliaga 11.9 percent.
Fujimori, meanwhile, remained firmly in first place with 17 percent, positioning her for the run-off. Final results could take up to two weeks, according to local election-monitoring group Transparencia.
The vote counting has been further delayed by the roughly 5 percent of ballots that were identified for review due to missing information or errors in polling station records, according to ONPE data. Those ballots will be reviewed by a special electoral jury before being included in the final count, officials said.
Business leaders and lawmakers from across the political spectrum have called on Corvetto to step down, arguing that a replacement should oversee the second round.
“Errors this serious have consequences,” Jorge Zapata, head of business chamber CONFIEP, told local radio station RPP.
Earlier this week, Corvetto acknowledged that there had been some logistical delays that forced voting to be extended by a day, mainly in Lima. Those delays triggered fraud allegations, notably from Lopez Aliaga, who has called for counting to be suspended. Corvetto has denied that any irregularities took place.
Even so, Peru’s top electoral court, the National Jury of Elections, filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors against Corvetto, citing alleged offences, including violations of voting rights. Representatives for Corvetto did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
An investigation is also under way after materials from four polling stations were found on a public road in Lima on Thursday, the police said. ONPE said on the social media platform X that the votes from those stations had already been recorded for counting.
European Union election observers said this week that they found no evidence of fraud.
Q&A
What issues are causing delays in Peru's presidential election results?
Delays in Peru's presidential election results are due to errors and logistical problems during the election, along with a slow tally of votes.
Who is leading the presidential race in Peru?
Conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori is leading the presidential race in Peru, with no clear challenger emerging yet.
What is the current vote difference between Roberto Sanchez and Rafael Lopez Aliaga in Peru's election?
Roberto Sanchez and Rafael Lopez Aliaga are separated by about 13,000 votes in the close battle for second place.
