Fujimori leads Peru presidential runoff by over 18,000 votes as count nears completion
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Keiko Fujimori holds a narrow lead of over 18,000 votes against Roberto Sánchez in Peru's presidential runoff election, with 98.59% of ballots counted.
- The final result awaits the resolution of over 1,300 disputed and observed ballots by electoral juries, a process that could take weeks.
- Sánchez alleges irregularities and attempts to annul votes, particularly from southern regions, while Fujimori's party points to potential issues in Lima and abroad.
Keiko Fujimori is narrowly leading the presidential race in Peru, with an advantage of over 18,000 votes against her leftist rival Roberto Sánchez. This slim margin comes after 98.59% of the ballots have been tallied in the runoff election. The final outcome hinges on electoral juries resolving more than 1,300 observed and disputed ballots, a process expected to take days or even weeks.
Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, has secured 50.052% of the vote, totaling 9,749,951 ballots. Her opponent, Roberto Sánchez of Juntos por el Perú, trails with 49.948%, or 9,056,119 votes, according to the National Electoral Office (ONPE).
they (Fujimori's Fuerza Popular party) want to annul the votes from the south
While Fujimori leads overall, Sánchez is currently winning in Peru's southern regions, where many of the disputed ballots originate. Fujimori, however, has benefited significantly from votes cast by Peruvians abroad. Sánchez has accused Fujimori's party of attempting to annul votes from the south, while Fujimori's party claims to have found irregularities in Lima and overseas voting. Fujimori dismissed Sánchez's call for a joint vote recount, stating that only observed ballots can be recounted according to electoral law.
I think what was lacking on the part of Juntos por el Perú was to read the law and the regulations better; it is very clear in Article 10 of the Electoral Law
Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.