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Calls to remove the head of Peru\u2019s electoral authority have intensified as delays and alleged irregularities clouded the presidential vote count.<\/p>\n
As of Friday, no clear challenger has emerged to face conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori in the June 7 run-off.<\/p>\n
The general election was held on Sunday, but an extension was granted to accommodate for the difficulties in ballot distribution.<\/p>\n
Pressure has mounted against the head of Peru\u2019s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Piero Corvetto. Complaints over errors and logistical problems during Sunday\u2019s election have been compounded by a slow tally that has rattled investor confidence and heightened uncertainty.<\/p>\n
According to the ONPE, leftist Roberto Sanchez and ultraconservative former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga remain locked in a close battle for second place, separated by about 13,000 votes as of Friday.<\/p>\n
With 93.3 percent of the ballots counted, Sanchez held 12.0 percent of the vote and Lopez Aliaga 11.9 percent.<\/p>\n
Fujimori, meanwhile, remained firmly in first place with 17 percent, positioning her for the run-off. Final results could take up to two weeks, according to local election-monitoring group Transparencia.<\/p>\n
The vote counting has been further delayed by the roughly 5 percent of ballots that were identified for review due to missing information or errors in polling station records, according to ONPE data. Those ballots will be reviewed by a special electoral jury before being included in the final count, officials said.<\/p>\n
Business leaders and lawmakers from across the political spectrum have called on Corvetto to step down, arguing that a replacement should oversee the second round.<\/p>\n
\u201cErrors this serious have consequences,\u201d Jorge Zapata, head of business chamber CONFIEP, told local radio station RPP.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Corvetto acknowledged that there had been some logistical delays that forced voting to be extended by a day, mainly in Lima. Those delays triggered fraud allegations, notably from Lopez Aliaga, who has called for counting to be suspended. Corvetto has denied that any irregularities took place.<\/p>\n
Even so, Peru\u2019s top electoral court, the National Jury of Elections, filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors against Corvetto, citing alleged offences, including violations of voting rights. Representatives for Corvetto did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.<\/p>\n
An investigation is also under way after materials from four polling stations were found on a public road in Lima on Thursday, the police said. ONPE said on the social media platform X that the votes from those stations had already been recorded for counting.<\/p>\n
European Union election observers said this week that they found no evidence of fraud.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n