Piero Corvetto stepped down from Peru's electoral office after the April 12 presidential vote faced irregularities, ballot issues, and extended counting delays.
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Piero Corvetto, head of Peru's Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE), resigned Tuesday following widespread irregularities in the country's April 12 presidential election that forced voting to extend an additional day.
Corvetto cited problems in the deployment of electoral materials as a factor in his decision. He expressed his availability for any investigations related to the electoral process.
The first round of Peru's general elections, held April 12, determined which presidential candidates would advance to a runoff scheduled for June 7, alongside elections for deputies and senators in the country's restored bicameral legislature. Thirty-five candidates competed for the presidency.
According to ONPE data, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular secured 17 percent of votes, leading the field for the June runoff. Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, is the only candidate with a guaranteed spot in the second round.
The race for the second runoff position remains contested. Left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez holds 12 percent of votes, while ultraconservative Rafael López Aliaga trails with 11.9 percent. As of the latest count, approximately 14,000 votes separate the two candidates, with Sánchez maintaining a slight advantage with roughly 94 percent of ballots tallied.
The vote-counting process has been significantly delayed by numerous irregularities. Ballots have been found discarded in trash containers, and electoral records have been challenged. The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE), Peru's highest electoral authority, estimates final results will not be known before May 15.
Nearly one million votes distributed across 5,143 contested electoral records require examination by electoral judges due to documented irregularities, according to the electoral authority. The processing of these challenged records has stalled the overall count.
The delays and irregularities have fueled public distrust in institutions already weakened by previous political turmoil. Peruvians remain uncertain which candidate will face Fujimori in the June 7 runoff.
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