On Thursday, leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez called on far-right candidate Rafael Lopez Aliaga, his opponent for a spot in Peru’s presidential runoff, to respect voters’ decision.
More specifically, Sanchez called for respect for rural votes, saying they carry the same weight as those cast in Lima.
His statements included thanks to the international community for “its objective view” regarding narratives of fraud in the April 12 elections.
At a news conference, Sanchez, candidate of the Juntos por el Peru party, presented a legal and technical analysis of the electoral process conducted by his team of lawyers in response to fraud claims made by Lopez Aliaga, who has not presented evidence so far.
“The vote from the south, the Andean, Quechua, Amazonian and rural vote of Peru must be respected, whether Lopez Aliaga likes it or not,” the leftist candidate said, referring to votes cast by Indigenous peoples and farmers.
“We call on our social and political bases to remain vigilant and attentive. We are seeing attempts to disregard the democratic vote and the will of the people,” Sanchez added.
So far, with 93% of the votes counted, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori remains in first place with 17% of the vote.
Second place is being contested by Sanchez and Lopez Aliaga with a difference of about 6,000 votes, with a slight advantage for the leftist candidate, who has received strong support in rural areas and the southern part of the country.
Sanchez said that even if Lopez Aliaga launches multimillion-dollar campaigns, votes cannot be bought, and he reiterated that Quechua, Amazonian, Aymara, Matsigenka, Shuar and Shipibo-Konibo votes “are worth as much as a vote from a compatriot in Lima.”
Previously, Lopez Aliaga offered money to citizens in exchange for reports of electoral irregularities, seeking to challenge the trends in the election results.
“We will take all necessary actions, not only to uphold democracy but also to report allegedly illegal actions taking place in our country during this electoral process,” said the leader of the far-right Renovacion Popular party.
The Juntos por el Peru party achieved strong results in regions such as Ayacucho, Cusco, Ancash, Huancavelica and Cajamarca. In an attempt to challenge those victories, the Renovacion Popular party has filed 104 annulment claims regarding votes cast in Cajamarca.
If Lopez Aliaga succeeds in challenging the tally sheets from those polling stations and the results that have not yet been processed, he could receive over 1 million additional votes and advance to the presidential runoff.
The ongoing far right’s maneuver resembles what happened in 2021, when Fuerza Popular, the party of the daughter of late dictator Alberto Fujimori, attempted to prevent leftist Pedro Castillo from winning the election.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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