Peru’s Election Authority Confirms Advancement Of Fujimori, Sanchez To Runoff

ISTANBUL, May 18 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Peru’s National Jury of Elections (JNE) officially confirmed Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sanchez as candidates for a June 7 presidential runoff, rejecting objections from rival political groups, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

JNE President Roberto Burneo said decisions taken by the electoral body were “final and unappealable,” adding that all 546 annulment requests submitted after the first round had been resolved, according to a report published Sunday by the El Comercio newspaper.

According to the official results, Fujimori won 17.192 per cent of the valid votes, while Sanchez secured 12.039 per cent, narrowly ahead of former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga, who missed the runoff by 21,209 votes.

Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) announced Friday that 100 per cent of the ballots from the April 12 first round had been counted following delays and an additional day of voting caused by irregularities and logistical issues.

Fujimori, the candidate of the Popular Force party and daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, maintained her lead throughout the count with more than 2.8 million votes.

The race for second place remained tight until the final stages of the count, with Sanchez of the Together for Peru party eventually overtaking Rafael Lopez Aliaga of the Popular Renewal Party.

The first round was overshadowed by fraud allegations and calls for annulment by Aliaga, who later accepted the results and pledged to continue his political struggle in Congress.

Sanchez also remains under investigation by Peru’s Attorney General’s Office over alleged campaign fund embezzlement, although he has denied wrongdoing and said the fraud-related accusations against him were dismissed.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU