Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori remains ahead of left-wing rival Roberto Sánchez in Peru’s hotly contested presidential race as the count of thousands of votes slowly progresses.
Fujimori regained the lead in the dispute in the middle of last week, driven by votes from abroad, and this Tuesday (16) she has 50.091% of the votes, with just over 33 thousand votes separating her from Sánchez’s 49.909%.
So far, 99.044% of the votes have been counted, according to ONPE (Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes).
Peru’s electoral body began, last Thursday (11), the . Official results could still take days or weeks to be announced, according to authorities, in one of the most disputed elections in the country’s history.
Sánchez traveled over the weekend to the Andean region of Cusco, one of his electoral strongholds, where he met with supporters and said he had “suspicions” about the recount of votes.
Last week, Sánchez, alleging transport irregularities. The request was rejected by the authorities.
In recent days, Sánchez supporters have held marches against the electoral authority in the capital Lima, responding to the left-wing candidate’s calls to “defend the people’s vote”. The demonstrations, which attracted hundreds of participants, were peaceful.
After the second round, electoral observation missions from the Organization of American States and the European Union agreed, in separate press conferences, that the vote had taken place normally and, given the close results, urged the country to await the official count.
whose rise has worried private investors, is competing with the support of former left-wing president Pedro Castillo, sentenced to 11 years in prison for trying to dissolve Congress and assume broad powers at the end of 2022.
Financial markets rallied last week after a pre-election sell-off driven by fears that Sánchez’s policies could undermine economic stability, according to stock and currency market traders.
