The candidate of the radical left in the presidential elections in Peru, Pedro Castillo, who is in front, with 50.12% of the votes, after the completion of the counting, yesterday Tuesday rejected the calls to cancel the vote due to “fraud” by a part of the supporters of his opponent, the candidate of the populist right, Keiko Fukhimori.
“They do not stop calling for the election to be canceled,” Castillo told foreign media envoys and correspondents at his party’s headquarters in the capital, Lima, referring to Ms Fuchimori’s supporters, who have been calling for his ouster in recent days. round, held on June 6th.
«We are patiently waiting for the result to be announced, Added the educator and trade unionist, as the electoral tribunal continues to hear appeals, most of them from the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000).
Based on the official count of 100% of the ballots nine days after the match, Mr Castillo, 51, leads with 50.12% of the vote against 49.87% of his opponent, or about 45,000 votes.
Turnout in the process, which was described as “positive” and without “serious irregularities” by the Organization of American States (OAC) election observer mission, reached 74.5%, according to the Electoral Commission, in a country where turnout is mandatory and the abstention entails the imposition of a fine.
But Ms Fuchimori, 46, has been accused of corruption by Peruvian justice and called for the annulment of tens of thousands of unfavorable votes.
On Monday, Jorge Montoya, a retired lawmaker and admiral, called for the second round to be canceled and for “new elections with international observers” to be held, saying the Peruvian electoral system “no longer inspires confidence”.
Mr. Montoya is among the 64 generals and admirals. who, in agreement with Mrs Fuchimori, are questioning the transparency of the second round of the presidential election.
The Peruvian Ministry of Defense hastened to issue a press release confirming that this group of retired senior officers “does not represent” the armed forces.
Victor Andres Garcia Bellaude, a former right-wing MP, said in a televised interview on Sunday that the election process was marked by uncertainty, adding that if the count and checks were not completed by July 28, when his term expires. President Francisco Sagasti, the new speaker of parliament must be sworn in as caretaker head of state and call new elections.
“I think we should not be in a hurry, much less use inappropriate words like ‘fraud’, we should wait for the results calmly,” Sagasti warned.
Unknown when…
“Democracy has rules and timetables that we must all respect,” Cardinal Pedro Barreto told RPP on Tuesday, referring to calls for the election to be canceled. The Peruvian Roman Catholic Church is “available” to mediate if asked after the announcement of the election results, he assured.
The head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Monday called for “calm” to “prevent new social rifts” in the country of 33 million people.
It is still unknown when the final result will be officially announced. Electoral authorities are under pressure, as supporters of the two rivals demonstrate practically daily in front of their offices in the center of Lima.
«Calls for new elections show that some want to provoke violent incidents“, Addressed to foreign journalists Dina Bolouarte, Mr. Castillo’s vice-presidential candidate.
“The position taken by a section of the right is rebellious, but the country is calm,” analyst Hugo Otero, a former adviser to former Social Democrat President Alan Garcia, told AFP.
Peruvian university student Lucia Damert, who lives in Chile, said on Twitter that “when you lose an election, you have to take responsibility for your mistakes.”
Peru’s political scene is marked by chronic institutional instability and the Andean state has experienced several crises in recent years. Most recently, in November 2020, the country changed three presidents in one week.
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