Fujimori ahead in Peru runoff after final ballot review
Peru’s electoral jury is due to name a winner July 3 after a narrow runoff count that Roberto Sanchez says he will challenge.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
Keiko Fujimori is in front in Peru’s presidential runoff after electoral authorities completed their vote tally, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. The narrow result matters because her opponent, Roberto Sanchez, has refused to accept the count and says he will mount a legal challenge.
According to Al Jazeera and Reuters, the ONPE electoral authority finished reviewing disputed ballots after a weeks-long count. The final tally put Fujimori at 50.13 percent and Sanchez at 49.86 percent, with all votes counted.
Peru’s National Jury of Elections, known as the JNE, is expected to formally announce the winner on July 3, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. Fujimori said Monday she would wait for that announcement before claiming victory.
In a social media post cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters, Fujimori said Peru was moving closer to “a path of order and hope for all Peruvians.” Al Jazeera’s Mariana Sanchez, reporting from Lima, said Fujimori had described herself as happy that the count was finished and said she would wait with “humility and prudence.”
Fujimori, whom Al Jazeera and Reuters described as the right-wing candidate, is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori. Al Jazeera and Reuters noted that the elder Fujimori, who has died, had been jailed for human rights abuses.
Fujimori has promised to “unite the country,” according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Mariana Sanchez reported that Fujimori’s lead amounted to about 49,000 votes and said the candidate remains unpopular with many Peruvians after losing three previous presidential bids.
Roberto Sanchez, described by Al Jazeera and Reuters as Fujimori’s leftist rival, has said he will not recognize the result. He has alleged irregularities and fraud, but Al Jazeera and Reuters reported that he has not presented evidence for those claims.
Sanchez has called on supporters to protest to “defend the vote” and said he plans to file a legal challenge against the official proclamation, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Members of Fujimori’s party hope Sanchez will accept the outcome, Mariana Sanchez reported.
Election monitors have said there is no evidence of widespread fraud, while acknowledging public frustration with the process, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. Those frustrations had already been visible after the first round in April, when logistical problems delayed voting in parts of Lima.
The unresolved dispute comes after years of political instability in Peru. Al Jazeera and Reuters reported that nine presidents have taken office in the past 10 years, with leaders voted out or removed from office during that period.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.