Peru runoff result may take another week amid tight vote count, says Fujimori

Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori anticipates that the final determination of the runoff election will require at least an additional week. She stated this Friday while expressing her support for the Peruvian electoral system, estimating that the definitive scrutiny process will take longer due to the ongoing review of votes.

Speaking to reporters outside her residence, the leader of the Popular Force party defended a parliamentary reform promoted by her organization. This reform mandates the physical preservation of ballot papers to facilitate recounts in cases of challenges or observations from political groups. Fujimori believes this mechanism enhances the transparency, credibility, and legal certainty of the final election outcome, despite urging prudence from citizens and candidates.

As of Friday, with 98.26% of the votes processed by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Fujimori held a narrow lead. She had secured 50.005% of the valid votes, totaling 9,037,236 ballots, giving her a slim advantage of 1,664 votes over her left-wing rival, Roberto Sánchez of Juntos por el Perú, who garnered 49.995% (9,035,572 votes).

Fujimori emphasized the need to await judicial resolutions on contested ballot boxes, particularly those concentrated in Lima Metropolitana, where her party holds its strongest support. She projects a favorable outcome for her political option. While acknowledging the left-wing alliance's right to request the nullification of certain ballot boxes, especially those from abroad, Fujimori noted that these requests have not met the required payment fees or administrative prerequisites. She refrained from commenting on Sánchez's simultaneous proposal for a comprehensive audit of all votes cast domestically and internationally to address mutual allegations of operational irregularities.

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this mechanism provides greater transparency, credibility, and legal certainty to the final result of the electoral process.