The left-wing presidential candidate of Peru Roberto Sánchez (center) with supporters. Photo: Facebook/Roberto Sánchez.
The left-wing presidential candidate of Peru, Roberto Sánchez, will contest the second round of the elections against the far-right candidate Keiko Fujimori. With 99.68% of the votes counted, Sánchez’s margin over the right-wing candidate Rafael López Aliaga is becoming practically irreversible.
With approximately 60,000 votes yet to be counted from the April 12 elections, Keiko Fujimori received 17.17% of the valid votes, totaling 2,867,517 votes. Roberto Sánchez is in second place with 12%, having obtained 2,003,902 votes, while Rafael López Aliaga remains in third place with 11.91%, 1,989,428 votes.
The difference between Sánchez and López Aliaga is just 14,474 votes. This figure could only be reversed if López Aliaga obtains a quarter of the pending votes and the left candidate does not get any vote. In the capital, Lima, the only area in Peru where López Aliaga leads with 20% of the valid votes, only about 16,000 votes remain to be counted, making such a reversal impossible.
In the rest of the country, support for the former mayor of Lima is notoriously low. In contrast, Sánchez’s support comes mainly from the rural areas and his vote count is increasing as the counting in rural areas continues.
Fraud allegations without evidence
Rafael López Aliaga complained of an alleged fraud against him without presenting evidence. He is pressuring the National Jury of Elections (JNE) to stop the declaration of the results and demand an international audit, which would disrupt the electoral calendar.
López Aliaga claims that he was deliberately harmed by delays in the opening of polling places in Lima due to a lack of electoral material. According to his theory, these logistical problems prevented thousands of voters from voting. Various analyses conducted by electoral observation groups, such as the Civil Association Transparency, indicate that these incidents did not affect the final result.
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When will the second round be held?
Despite the logistical irregularities, all polling stations had opened nationwide. Thirteen centers in Lima operated the next day because they failed to open on April 12 due to exceeding the deadline set by the regulations.
The second round is scheduled for June 7. For the fourth consecutive time, Keiko Fujimori reaches the second round. In 2011, she lost to Ollanta Humala in the second round, in 2016 to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, and in 2021 to Pedro Castillo.
The elections are shaping up to be a repeat of the 2021 contest. Sánchez is competing on behalf of Castillo, who is in prison and received a sentence of 11 years and 5 months for the failed attempt to temporarily dissolve Congress and govern by decree in 2022 to implement transformations for the people. From the beginning of his administration, Fujimorism and its allies had opposed Castillo, finally consummating a coup against him in December 2022.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SH
