Peru’s ultraconservative candidate calls for new election in 48 hours after first-round loss, alleging fraud in a disputed vote.
LIMA: Peru’s ultraconservative presidential candidate demanded on Thursday that authorities hold fresh elections within 48 hours after first-round results excluded him from the runoff.
The mineral-rich South American country has lurched from one unpopular leader to the other over the past decade, with a bevvy of corruption scandals and a surge in organized crime undermining trust in the political system.
Ex-mayor of Lima Rafael “Porky” Lopez Aliaga led a march of hundreds of supporters in the capital Lima, vowing to reject the results of last month’s chaotic first-round.
Leftist Roberto Sanchez garnered 12 percent of the vote, narrowly defeating Lopez Aliaga by a 20,000 vote lead.
Sanchez will face populist right-wing Keiko Fujimori — who leads the first-round results with 17.1 percent of the votes — in the June 7 presidential runoff.
The National Jury of Elections (JNE) “has a 48-hour window to declare new elections,” Lopez Aliaga said on a rally protesting alleged irregularities.
That window closes Sunday, when the JNE is set to officially announce the results of the first round, which was marred by logistical problems.
“The only way to defeat me has been through dirty tricks, and we will not recognize an illegitimate government”, Lopez Aliaga said, adding his party would challenge the JNE’s “fake list” of second-round candidates.
Waving Peruvian flags, protesters and supporters of Lopez Aliaga’s Popular Renewal Party traversed several streets before finishing at JNE’s headquarters in the historic center of Lima.
“I have come to protest the electoral fraud. They have stolen our votes,” said protester Margarita Vila, 45.
Delays in the shipment of electoral materials prevented more than 50,000 voters from casting their ballots in the first round on April 12, forcing authorities to extend voting by an additional day.
Despite “serious problems”, a European Union observer mission reported that it found no evidence to support a “narrative of fraud”.
Chronically unstable Peru has burned through eight presidents in a decade.
