Keiko Fujimori countered Roberto Sánchez's proposal to hold a debate in Chota, Cajamarca, suggesting Lima locations instead.
8:08 PM
Keiko Fujimori, the presidential candidate for Fuerza Popular, responded to a proposal from her runoff competitor Roberto Sánchez of Juntos por el Perú to hold a debate in Chota, a province in the Cajamarca region.
Speaking during a campaign event in the town of 9 de Octubre in Chiclayo on Wednesday, Fujimori characterized Sánchez's initiative as an attempt to "replicate the script from 2021," referring to a debate she held with Pedro Castillo five years earlier in Chota during the second round of that election.
Fujimori suggested the debate be held instead in the San Borja district of Lima province. She noted that Sánchez does not reside in Chota but rather in San Borja, and proposed that if he wished to feel like the home team, the debate could take place in his place of origin.
"Sánchez is not from Chota, he does not live in Chota, he lives in San Borja. But if what he wants is to feel like a home player, I think the debate could be, so he feels comfortable, in his place of origin," Fujimori said during the campaign activity.
Fujimori also mentioned an alternative location, proposing that the debate could be held in Huaral, another district in Lima province.
Fujimori stated that the final decision on the organization of the debate encounters would rest with the JNE, Peru's National Electoral Jury.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sánchez had expressed his willingness to debate with Fujimori. Speaking to the press after participating in a session of Congress, Sánchez said he would accept the debate and proposed that one of the encounters take place in Chota, Cajamarca.
"Of course, we are ready to go debate in the Macrosur region, the Macronorth, the Macocenter, and why would we fear going to a great debate in the province of Chota, in the Cajamarca region. We are willing," Sánchez stated.
According to the ONPE vote count, Sánchez remains in second place in the runoff ballot.
Fujimori had previously suggested from Piura that three debates be held: one among the presidential candidates, a second among the vice-presidential candidates, and a third among the campaign teams.
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