Members of the Fujimori group called “La Resistencia” confront Pedro Castillo's supporters outside the National Elections Jury (JNE) in Lima, June 24, 2021. (Photo: EFE).
During the post-electoral confrontations in PerĂş, a member of the PerĂş Libre party was assassinated by supporters of the rival party, Popular Force.
“We regret to report that our comrade SacarĂas Meneses Taco from [the department of] Ayacucho has died as a result of the violent attacks by Fujimori thugs,” wrote the PerĂş Libre Press Department on its official Twitter account this Wednesday, June 30. “The blows they inflicted on his head left him mortally injured. Rest in peace, comrade, we will never forget you.”
On Tuesday Julián PalacĂn, director of the PerĂş Libre party of President-elect Pedro Castillo, blamed Fujimoristas—followers of the right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori of the Popular Force party—for the death of social activist SacarĂas Meneses Taco.
“Thugs hired by Popular Force”
Taco, 56, had participated in the peaceful marches demanding Castillo’s confirmation as president, held on June 24 in front of the National Elections Jury (JNE), when he was attacked by Fujimoristas armed with sticks and nails. On Tuesday, at the Dos de Mayo hospital in Lima, the Peruvian capital, Taco perished from his wounds, wrote PalacĂn on his social media accounts.
“Those directly responsible are the thugs hired by Popular Force,” stressed PalacĂn. In recent days several incidents of violence have been reported at the hands of fascist groups led by Fujimori.
The presidential elections in PerĂş were held on June 6 and the scrutiny of 100% of the voting tables culminated on June 15, giving 50.12% of ballots cast to the left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo, over forty thousand votes ahead of his rival, the right-wing Keiko Fujimori. In an unprecedented development since then, Castillo is still yet to be formally proclaimed the winner due to what some experts call a coup d’Ă©tat in the making.
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Fujimori’s allegations delay Castillo’s proclamation
Almost three weeks after the election date, the electoral authorities have not yet been able to proclaim Castillo as president-elect due to Fujimori’s unfounded accusations of “systematic fraud” and request to annul thousands of votes.
In this sense, PerĂş Libre assured on Tuesday that the accusations of Fujimori are aimed at “delaying” the proclamation of the country’s new president.
JNE rejects Fujimori’s unfounded allegations
On the same day the JNE, by a majority, declared seven appeals on requests filed by the Popular Force party for annulments of voting tables for alleged irregularities—such as the falsification of signatures—as unfounded.
This was the third hearing in which challenges filed by the right-wing party were discussed. With the seven appeals rejected on Tuesday, 27 cases have been dismissed, and those that remain pending are expected to meet a similar fate, although it is not known exactly how long this could take.
This happens amid reports of attempted bribery of JNE magistrates by the criminal Vladimiro Montesinos, former head of PerĂş’s infamous National Intelligence Service, imprisoned years ago for crimes committed during the regime of Alberto Fujimori in one of the largest corruption scandals in Peruvian history.
Featured image: Members of the Fujimorista group La Resistencia confront Pedro Castillo’s supporters outside the National Elections Jury (JNE) in Lima, June 24, 2021. (Photo: EFE).
(HispanTV) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
