Live Updates: Peruvians Await Official Runoff Election Results

The two candidates in the June 6 presidential runoff elections for the Peru Libre and Fuerza Popular parties, Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori, closed their electoral campaigns on Friday, and Peruvians now choose the next president of the country in what analysts predict could be a technical tie.

11:30 PM EST - Ipsos Peru has published results from their quick count

It maintains a technical tie with a slight advantage to Pedro Castillo with 50.2% over Keiko Fujimori

11:00 PM EST - Access to the ONPE premises in Lima blocked by fences, police cordon; Keiko addresses supporters

As both political parties, their candidates and electoral authorities have called for calm and prudence until the release of the official election results, Peru Libre supporters have gathered outside of the ONPE headquarters in Lima, denouncing electoral fraud and demaning transparency in the vote count. According to journalists and social movement leaders at the scene of the demonstration, access to the premises have been blocked by fences and police cordon in anticipation of social unrest.

Meanwhile, Keiko Fujimori of the right-wing Fuerza Peru party addressed her supporters late Sunday night after learning of a slight lead above Pedro Castillo of Peru Libre in an unofficial exit poll released by Ipsos-Peru.

Calculating her message to not assume an early victory, she stated: "I have received the results with joy, but seeing that the margin is very small, it is essential to remain prudent. This campaign is over and it will be essential to build bridges and find space for dialogue among all political groups. Our country, looking at the electoral map, shows two big blocks: fellow citizens who want a change with a different vision of the country. That change must be sought by whoever wins. Here there is no winner or loser, here we have to look for the unity of Peruvians. I call for prudence, calm and peace. It is because of this prudence that we are going to wait for the official results of the ONPE."

10:30 PM EST - Ballots being counted in decentralized computing centers nationwide

Electoral records are being counted nationwide at decentralized computing centers with the presence of international election observers, public advocates and public advocates of both political parties, Fuerza Peru and Peru Candidates, whose presidential candidates Keiko Fujimori and Pedro Castillo are in a technical tie, according to the unofficial exit poll released earlier Sunday night by Ipsos-Peru. 

The first announcement of official results are expected to be known as of 11:30 pm local time.

"Arrival of electoral records at the computing center of the Decentralized Office of Electoral Processes Cajamarca with the presence of an observer from the @OEA_oficial, @JNE_Peru and representatives of both political parties."

10:00 PM EST - Castillo supporters protest outside OPNE, denounce electoral fraud

Leftist presidential candidate Pedro Castillo has called on his supporters to be vigilant and defend each vote from possible foul play as an IPSOS exit poll has indicated a technical tie. 

“From Tacabamba I ask our representatives and observers to be attentive, to defend each vote. I call on the Peruvian people from all corners of the country to go to the streets in peace to be vigilant in the defense of democracy. #DefendTheVote”, said Pedro Castillo via his official social media accounts.

In response, hundreds of supporters have gathered outide the OPNE headquarters in Lima to defend the vote, denounce electoral fraud and demand impartiality in the vote count and announcement of the results. 

"Supporters of Peru Libre march to the ONPE chanting "no to fraud", after knowing the result of the electoral flash."

9:30 PM EST - Veronika Mendoza calls on Peruvians to remain calm as rural vote is counted

According to the Nuevo Peru leader, who has endorsed Peru Libre candidate Pedro Castillo, "Castillo has a better chance. We are confident in the rural vote."

Her statement Sunday night came as Castillo told his supporters: "I salute the Peruvian people for their loyalty in this democratic celebration. I want to tell them that we must remain calm and be prudent. The people are wise and intelligent. Dear compatriots, I call for the highest calm. What we have heard is not official. We believe in the official data of the ONPE. Long live Peru."

Both of the leftist leaders and the rest of the Peruvian people await the country's electoral authorities' first official results later Sunday night, closer to midnight.

"Outside the ONPE, supporters of Pedro Castillo start to gather and start chanting against @pcorvetto and candidate Fujimori. They denounce fraud."

9:00 PM EST - Election observers denounce right-wing violence against Peru Libre vice-presidential candidate

A group of international electoral observation delegations from the U.S., Europe and Latin America held a press conference and disseminated a press released denouncing right-wing violence against Peru Libre's vice-presidential candidate as she exercised her right to vote.

The observers similarly lambasted Peru's electoral authorities in making access to independently verify the vote count extremely difficult, and called on public officials to protect the Peruvian people's right to the vote. 

"A group of international delegations from Europe, USA and South America are in the Republic of Peru to observe the electoral act of the day in this country, in a commitment to democracy... (see photo)

8:30 PM EST - IPSOS-Peru exit polls shows technical tie

The unofficial results of an exit poll conducted by IPSOS shows a technical tie in Sunday's presidential runoff elections, with Keiko Fujimori or Fuerza Peru winning 50.3% of the vote and Pedro Castillo of Peru Libre earning 47.3% of the vote.

Officials results are expected to start coming in from Peru's electoral authorities around 11:30 pm local time, and the president of IPSOS-Peru Alfredo Torres an official quick count (still not official results as they don't include 100% of the valid votes) will indeed be done on Sunday and should prove much more accurate than the exit poll because, among other things, it also measures absenteeism. 

8:00 PM EST - Polls close in Peru's runoff elections

The polls have officially closed in Peru's second round presidential elections, after twelve hours of voting throughout the country and in countries with Peruvian communities worldwide. Polls opened at 7 AM local time and unofficial exit polls results are expected at 8:00 PM local time. Peruvian electoral authorities have already begun the public counting of the votes.

7:00 PM EST - Election observer denounces limited access to independently verify vote count

According to Peru presidential election observer Jack Wiliams of the MIT Elections Lab, public access to the runoff voting data has been limited to such an extent that it will become considerably difficult to independently analyze the results. 

In a video released Sunday evening, Williams described how the time it takes to download the results from Peru's election authority's website has increased five times over the past week, meaning that the countries 84,000 actas, at the current download speed, would take 8 days, as opposed to 2, to independently verify. 

Williams explains that researchers inside Peru told him that the ONPE is blocking access to the voting results from outside of the country, hindering independent, outside verification of the tallies for Sunday's decisive runoff election.

6:00 PM EST -  Peruvians in the United States head out to vote 

With polls open for another two hours, Peruvians living in the United States lined up to cast their vote in Sunday's presidential runoff elections. Here, voters in Los Angeles are seen in line despite the blazing sun. Peru's electoral authorities have also shown images today on their social media accounts of Peruvians voting for one of the two presidential candidates from the U.S. cities of Denver, Boston, Dallas and elsewhere.

"We share images of voting in the second presidential runoff election from Los Angeles, UnitedStates."

5:30 PM EST -  Keiko Fujimori casts her ballot

The presidential candidate for the right-wing Popular Front alliance, Keiko Fujimori, exercises her right to vote in the Cusco area in the company of her family and political entourage. 

"Peru's presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori has just voted."

5:00 PM EST -  Fuerza Popular official in Tumbes detained for filling out ballots 

According to Peru's election authorities, an official with Keiko Fujimori's Fuerza Popular party was detaind around 2:00pm local time for filling out ballots for his party's presidential candidates after dully signing the back of voters' ballots, a task with which he is assigned.

The official was detained by the police and state security forces, and the nation's attorney general's office will carry out the corresponding investigation, according to the ONPE. Backup ballots were used to guarantee voters' will and so as to not hold up the rest of the polling station's normal operations.

4:30 PM EST - 60 minor incidents related to improper electoral propoganda reported

According to Yessica Clavijo Chipoco, the national director for control and electoral processes at the National Jury of Elections, so far 60 minor incidents have been reported during Peru's second-round presidential runoff elections. Clavijo stated that the occurrences mostly deal with improper electoral propaganda, given official campaigning ended Friday. 

The JNE representative said that the election day continues to develop normally and with the guarantees provided by the presence of JNE auditors, as well as the international observers and public advocates. 

"The National Director of Control and Electoral Processes of the JNE, Yessica Clavijo Chipoco, in an interview with JNETV, reported that until noon today there have been about 60 incidents that mostly have to do with improper electoral propaganda."

4:00 PM EST - Up to this point, voting has been carried out normally and without any serious incidents

The twelve-hour voting day, begininng at 7:00 am and closing at 7:00 pm local time, has been carried out thus far without delays or any serious incidents reported. 25 million Peruvians are called to vote, which is obligatory in the country, and almost one million Peruvians abroad, whose ballots will arrive to the country on Tuesday, are expected to vote too.

 "This Sunday Peruvians elect the new president. Unlike the first round, this time the voting centers did open early. They will receive voters until 19:00. The day has passed by normally and without serious incidents."

3:30 PM EST - Peruvian residents in Costa Rica, Haiti and Cuba vote in presidential runoff

Throughout the day, hundreds of thousands of Peruvians abroad have been voting among the two presidential candidates in the runoff elections. Here, Peruvians in Central America and the Caribbean, particularly Costa Rica, Haiti, and Cuba, cast their vote for the country's next leader.