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 organised 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 Sánchez garnered 12 per cent of the vote, narrowly defeating López Aliaga by a 20,000 vote lead.
Sanchez will face populist right-winger Keiko Fujimori, who leads the first-round results with 17.1 per cent of the votes, in the 7 June presidential runoff.
“The National Jury of Elections (JNE) has a 48-hour window to declare new elections,” Lopez Aliaga said at a rally protesting alleged irregularities.
That window closes Sunday, when the JNE will officially announce the results of the first round, which logistical problems marred.
“The only way to defeat me has been through dirty tricks, and we will not recognize an illegitimate gov,” Lopez Aliaga said, adding that 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 the JNE's headquarters in the historic centre of Lima.
“I have come to protest the electoral fraud. They have stolen our votes,” protester Margarita Vila said.
Delays in the shipment of electoral materials prevented more than 50,000 voters from casting their ballots in the first round on 12 April, 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 burnt through eight presidents in a decade.
