Roberto Sánchez requested nullification of votes cast abroad, which could affect nearly 300,000 ballots in a race where Keiko Fujimori leads by over 40,000 votes.
3:21 PM
Left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez requested Monday the annulment of votes cast abroad in Peru's presidential runoff, a measure that could affect nearly 300,000 ballots at a moment when official tallies show a narrow advantage for right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.
With 99.70 percent of voting records processed, Fujimori held 50.111 percent of votes against 49.889 percent for Sánchez, according to data from Peru's National Electoral Processes Office (ONPE). Fujimori leads the contest against Sánchez by slightly more than 40,000 votes, with over 19 million votes counted.
Sánchez filed what he described as an "ex officio nullity request" with Peru's National Electoral Jury (JNE) to declare void the elections conducted by 119 consular offices. He alleged the electoral process had been "gravely affected by modifications introduced at the request of the Executive Power (Foreign Ministry)" specifically in the second round of the presidential runoff.
"We have presented the nullity request so that the National Electoral Jury declares null the elections carried out by the 119 consular offices, given that the electoral procedure has been gravely affected by the modifications introduced at the request of the Executive Power (Foreign Ministry) specifically in the second presidential runoff," Sánchez stated on social media.
The second round of voting took place June 7. To declare an official winner, contested voting records containing approximately 82,000 votes still require review.
If overseas votes were excluded from the tally, the results would reverse. Sánchez would obtain 50.11 percent of valid votes with 40,793 more ballots than Fujimori, who would register 49.88 percent. Sánchez's party, Juntos por el Perú, previously filed a complaint against Foreign Minister Carlos Pareja, alleging electoral fraud and other offenses related to the voting process modifications.
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