It's Official: With 100% of Ballots Processed Pedro Castillo is the New President of Perú—International Reactions

After a tense wait and five days of processing the minutes following the June 6 elections, Peruvians can finally meet their new president-elect. With 100% of the votes processed by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), the candidate of Perú Libre, Pedro Castillo, obtained 50.198% of the votes cast at the national level, while Keiko Fujimori achieved 49.802%.

The update indicates that Castillo obtained a total of 8,800,081 votes, while Fujimori received a total of 8,730,535. A margin of victory this narrow, in any country, would normally lead to a clear announcement by the authorities to lay to rest any disruptive claims by the defeated party, but this has not happened so far.

Meanwhile, the total number of valid votes was 17,530,616. There were 120,931 blank votes, and 1,086,214 invalidated ballots, for a total of 18,737,651 votes cast, reflecting voter participation of 74.663%.

#ONPEinforma [ACTUALIZACIÓN DE RESULTADOS] Actas contabilizadas para fórmula de presidente y vicepresidentes a las 15:51 horas del 10 de junio. pic.twitter.com/QYocCD0fQL
— ONPE (@ONPE_oficial) June 10, 2021

The ONPE reported that a total of 86,488 minutes were processed, while 647 were sent to the National Elections Jury (JNE).

The 100% result was achieved after the arrival of the last two electoral records from the Morona district in Datem del Marañón province, in the Loreto region, to the Office of Electoral Processes of Alto Amazonas.

Persistent prevailing rains in the area forced the computer center’s retrieval of records to be done first by river, and then by air.

The records processed are all those that have entered the corresponding computer center and have undergone digitization and verification. On the other hand, the minutes counted include all those whose votes have been counted.

For climatic reasons, the last electoral records to be processed also included those of the Cusco and Junín regions.

The head of the ONPE, Piero Corvetto, thanked all the personnel of the electoral organization for the achievement and confirmed that the final result will reflect the popular will, as expressed at the polls.

International reactions
One of the first messages of congratulation posted on Twitter was from former Bolivian President, Evo Morales: “Pedro Castillo, soul brother and compa in the struggle, you are the pride of social and professional patriotic movements. Many congratulations for this victory, it is the victory of the Peruvian people, but also of the Latin American people who want to live with social justice,” wrote Morales this Wednesday, June 9.

#PedroCastillo, hermano del alma y compañero de lucha, eres orgullo de los movimientos sociales y profesionales patriotas.
¡Muchas felicidades por esta victoria, que es la victoria del pueblo peruano, pero también del pueblo latinoamericano que quiere vivir con justicia social! pic.twitter.com/QB2H4osjOu
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) June 9, 2021

The Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez also posted a message on his Twitter account this Thursday after the Peruvian electoral authority posted the last and final update with 100% of the ballots counted. “Today I contacted Pedro Castillo, elected president of Perú. I expressed to him my wish to join forces for the benefit of Latin America. We are deeply fraternal nations.”

Hoy me comuniqué con @PedroCastilloTe, presidente electo de Perú. Le expresé mi deseo de que unamos esfuerzos en favor de América Latina. Somos naciones profundamente hermanadas.
Celebro que el querido pueblo peruano enfrente el futuro en democracia y con solidez institucional. pic.twitter.com/vKaKpdBdik
— Alberto Fernández (@alferdez) June 10, 2021

The president of Bolivia wrote “Bolivia joins the celebration of the Peruvian people and congratulates our brother Pedro Castillo, President Elect of Perú, country with which we share history and culture. The Patria Grande adds forces to continue in the struggle for a future with justice and equality for the peoples.” Luis Arce shared the message on Thursday afternoon.

#Bolivia se une a la celebración del pueblo peruano y felicita al hermano @PedroCastilloTe, Presidente electo del #Perú, país con el que compartimos historia y cultura. La #PatriaGrande suma fuerzas para continuar la lucha por un mañana con justicia e igualdad para los pueblos. pic.twitter.com/vz7QPd2POg
— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) June 10, 2021

The former president of Brazil and strong favorite to become the next President of the South American giant, also made public a tweet: “I want to congratulate Pedro Castillo for the important victory in Perú and salute the Peruvian people for their free and democratic elections,” wrote Lula da Silva. “The result in the Peruvian ballots is symbolic and it represents a step forward in the people’s struggle of our beloved Latin America.”

Quero parabenizar @PedroCastilloTe pela importante vitória no Peru e saudar o povo peruano pelas eleições livres e democráticas. O resultado das urnas peruanas é simbólico e representa mais um avanço na luta popular em nossa querida América Latina.
— Lula (@LulaOficial) June 10, 2021

The former Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, also posted a message on his Twitter account: “Perú has a new president, a humble rural teacher. You have to be afraid of the humble. Look at what Lula and Evo did. Hasta la victoria siempre (ever onward to victory), President Castillo,” wrote Correa.

President Correa congratulates Pedro Castillo for becoming the new President of Peru.
The counting has ended and Castillo is the ELECTED PRESIDENT now. #Peru @PedroCastilloTe #PedroCastilloPresidente @MashiRafael https://t.co/z0wk7nVqPZ
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) June 10, 2021

Featured image: Pedro Castillo is elected president of Peru by a very narrow margin. Photo Archive.

(Ultimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SL