Left-wing politician Roberto Sánchez, candidate for president of Peru, declared this Tuesday (23) that he will not accept the results of the second electoral round. The partial vote count so far indicates a possible victory for his opponent, Keiko Fujimori.
During a press conference, Sánchez alleged the existence of “ongoing fraud” in the vote counting process. He also called on his voters to participate in demonstrations next Saturday (27).
With the review of 99.71% of the ballot boxes, the conservative candidate recorded 50.11% of the votes. His opponent accumulates 49.89% of the electorate’s preference.
“There was manipulation in the voting process and we will not recognize Fujimori’s government,” said Sánchez. He held ONPE, the Peruvian electoral body, and Fujimori’s campaign responsible for alleged failures in votes from abroad. The issue of foreign votes is historically sensitive in Peru, often defining close elections due to the large Peruvian diaspora and the weight of these voters in elections with a minimum margin.
The contested ballots from the second round, which took place on June 7, have been analyzed by electoral authorities for more than fifteen days.
Roberto Sánchez, representative of the Juntos por el Perú party, maintained his lead in the count for several days. However, Keiko Fujimori, from Fuerza Popular, overtook him after counting the votes of Peruvians residing outside the country.
Among voters abroad, Fujimori won 63.206% of the votes. In Peruvian territory, Sánchez had a slight advantage, with 50.113% of the total.
Last Monday (22), the left-wing candidate filed a new request to invalidate the votes of Peruvian citizens living in other countries.
Sánchez’s accusations involve alleged administrative irregularities and failures in the administration of voting ballots by the electoral body in the international election. These votes, estimated at around 300 thousand, would have significantly benefited Keiko Fujimori. The candidate claims that, if these votes were disregarded, he would have a margin of around 25 thousand more votes than his opponent.
Experts in electoral law, consulted by a local newspaper, indicate that the request has no legal basis. For these professionals, the objective would simply be to postpone the official announcement of the results.
Sánchez’s Juntos por el Perú party secured the second largest representation in the national Congress. The party obtained 32 of the 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 14 of the 60 positions in the Senate.
Fujimori’s Fuerza Popular party secured the largest bench, with 22 seats in the Senate and 41 in the Chamber of Deputies. The party reiterated that it will wait for the complete count before officially declaring victory.