Peru Announces Vote Extension Over Logistical Problems
The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) ordered the extension after critical shortages of voting materials paralyzed parts of the capital. A total of 187 missing polling stations were brought online at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) Monday and remained open throughout the day, allowing voters to choose the next president, vice presidents, senators, and lawmakers.
With 54.499% of ballots counted as of 10:47 a.m. (1547 GMT) Monday, right-wing Popular Force candidate Keiko Sofia Fujimori Higuchi held the lead with 1,687,382 votes — 16.957% of the total. Hard on her heels, far-right candidate Rafael Bernardo Lopez Aliaga Cazorla of the Popular Renewal party trailed with 1,435,846 votes, or 14.429%.
Fujimori, a three-time candidate and daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori — the first Latin American leader convicted of severe human rights violations and sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in two massacres and the kidnapping of political dissidents — is now mounting her fourth presidential bid.
Offering a measured response to her narrow advantage, Fujimori told reporters Sunday: "The quick count results are a very positive sign for our country because, as I pointed out in the debate, the enemy is the left, and according to these results, they would not make it to the second round. That, I repeat, is positive for all Peruvians."
Lopez Aliaga, an ultraconservative businessman running for the presidency for the second time, has built his campaign around security, anti-immigration policies, and economic development.
Sunday's contest was notable for its exceptional field of 30 presidential candidates — a number so large it rendered a first-round outright victory mathematically impossible, as 50% of the vote is required to win without a runoff. Should Fujimori and Lopez Aliaga finish as the top two candidates, they will face each other in a runoff election on June 7.
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