Authorities say vote count near completion as runoff set between Sanchez and Fujimori

On Wednesday, Rafael Lopez, the candidate of the far-right party Popular Renewal (Renovacion Popular), called for a “Grand March” in Lima after alleging suspected electoral fraud.

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The results of the first round of the presidential elections held April 12 show that leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez surpassed Lopez by over 25,000 votes.

The far-right politician alleges that fraud occurred, arguing that many citizens were unable to vote. In the metropolitan areas of Lima, however, authorities extended voting hours in response to some organizational irregularities.

As of April 29, authorities had already counted 96.7% of the electoral records, determining that the runoff election will be held between Roberto Sanchez and Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of dictator Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru between 1990 and 2000.

“It is not just a vote, it is your future and it is not negotiable,” is the slogan used by Lopez to call for a march at 5 p.m. local time at Campo de Marte in Lima.

Previously, the National Board of Justice received 2,664 complaints from citizens regarding incidents that occurred during the first round. All of them have been investigated in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

Although Lopez has not presented evidence for his claims, he maintains that there is “the possibility” that fraud occurred during the 2026 election. His criticisms are directed at the National Jury of Elections (JNE) over delays in the distribution of electoral materials and the inability of citizens to vote due to closed polling stations.

So far, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) has counted 91,113 voting records, and only 1,653 electoral records remain pending review by electoral jury offices.

In an interview with teleSUR, sociologist Gabriel Cabrera said the election results will not undergo major changes even if those records are reviewed.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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