Keiko Fujimori appears at the front and celebrates projections; slow investigation marks election with delays
A candidate Keiko Fujimori celebrated this Monday (13) the results of research and estimates preliminary elections in Peruwho point to her as the favorite for a second round in June against the “enemy” on the left.
The official count is progressing slowly, in an election marked by questions to the electoral authority after delays and incidents that led to the extension of voting hours until this Monday, with a new day from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm (local time).
“The results (…) are a very positive sign for our country, because (…) the enemy is the left”, he said in a brief speech.
Without a confirmed rival, the second place in the second round is contested by several candidates, including the ultra-conservative Rafael López Aliagas, who appears well positioned.
The next president will have the challenge of confronting the high crime rates and political instability that led the country to have eight presidents in the last decade.
“Fraud”
With 40% of the votes counted, Fujimori leads the official count, ahead of López Aliaga, known as Porky. In a country where voting is mandatory, almost 63,000 people were unable to vote due to a lack of ballots, ballot boxes and other electoral materials.
“It’s very outrageous that, at this point in the 21st century, these things are happening here in Peru. Every day it’s worse,” said Martha Tumba, 81, during a protest outside the headquarters of the electoral authority.
During voting day on Sunday, long lines were recorded at some polling stations in Lima under intense heat and humidity. Candidates also criticized the problems.
“It is a very serious electoral fraud and we are going to call for a citizen protest,” said López Aliaga.
According to the polls, the third and fourth places in a tight dispute are with the social democrat Jorge Nieto, who still has a chance of catching López Aliaga, and the centrist businessman Ricardo Belmont.
Before the end of voting hours, police officers from the anti-corruption unit and prosecutors entered the headquarters of the electoral authority and the company responsible for distributing electoral material to obtain information about the incidents.
AFP journalists noted the presence of security force agents inside and around the electoral body. During the night, dozens of people shouted “fraud” at a protest in front of the country’s electoral authority.
Crime
Most Peruvians distrust their politicianswhom they blame for the violence that coincides with the presence of transnational criminal groups at war with local criminals.
Campaign speeches focused on combating crime. Several candidates are betting on radical measures, such as anonymous courts to judge criminals, prisons surrounded by snakes, awards for the death of criminals or the country’s departure from the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Peru has had eight presidents since 2016half of them dismissed by a Parliament that concentrates the population’s rejection.
In an interview with AFP on the eve of the election, Keiko Fujimori promised to expel irregular migrants, attract American investment and join the bloc of right-wing governments in the region, which is growing with the support of Donald Trump.
Voters received a 44 centimeter long ballot, on which they also marked, for the first time since 1990, deputies and senators, as the country will reestablish a bicameral Parliament in July.
More than 90% of Peruvians have “little” or “no confidence” in their government and parliamentthe highest index in Latin America, according to the regional survey Latinobarómetro.
But despite its problems, Peru stands out as one of the region’s most stable economies, with the continent’s lowest inflation and booming mineral exports.
*AFP
