Former investment banker Pedro Pablo Kuczynski had a wafer-thin lead on Tuesday (June 07) over rival Keiko Fujimori in the latest tally from Peru’s presidential race, with tens of thousands of votes from abroad and in remote jungle villages still to be counted.
The results in Peru’s tightest election in at least 50 years gave Kuczynski a 0.34 percentage point edge over Fujimori, the daughter of a jailed former president.
Ballots from Peruvians living in the United States and Europe were still trickling in would likely decide the election. A partial count suggested they would favour Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former prime minister who worked for years on Wall Street.
Leading candidate Kuczynski told media he will wait for the official verdict from the vote before before making any proclamations.
“Lacking a little a peace and quiet but doing well. I think so but we have to wait for the official verdict,” he said regarding whether he is likely to win.
The margin between the two business-friendly candidates widened to 57,000 votes in the latest update by Peru’s electoral office, ONPE, two days after polls closed. Earlier in the week, official figures showed just a difference of just a few hundred votes between the candidates.
The head of the ONPE, Mariano Cucho, told media he expects the complete results of the election to be announced on Thursday (June 09).
“We estimate that from our records we will have all records processes by early Thursday (June 09) morning. We call for calm, peace and wisdom from all electorates, the entire population, the media from which distorted (information) arrives and from social networks we urge great caution,” he declared.
With the race so close, Fujimori, who has largely been out of the public eye since Sunday (June 05), does not plan to accept possible defeat until 100 percent of the votes are counted, a person close to the candidate said on condition of anonymity.
Supporter camps for both candidates have set up camp outside ONPE headquarters keeping a vigilant eye on any announcements made by the electoral body.
According to officials, about 1.7 percent of ballots are being questioned due to lack of clarity and would be settled by local electoral panels.
“We have come from all parts of the country, from different parts of the city, men and women to support (Fujimori) here, trying to watch out for our vote, for the democracy of all Peruvians and with all Peruvians. That is why we cant Keiko as president,” said Fujimori supporter, Dessie Sanabria.
A count of about 80 percent of votes cast from the U.S. showed Kuczynski with an eight-point lead over Fujimori, and a partial count of votes from Europe showed Kuczynski had a bigger advantage.
But Kuczynski supporters are holding out celebrations until the final results are made available.
“We’ve been here since yesterday on watch. We’ve set up camp here, various groups are here waiting for 100% of the results from ONPE,” he said.
A week ago, Fujimori had been the favourite to win. But Kuczynski caught up with her in final opinion polls as Peruvians weighed the legacy of her father, who was convicted of corruption and human rights abuse, and scandals involving her own close advisers.
Some Peruvians credit the elder Fujimori with defeating violent Shining Path guerillas and building rural schools during his decade-long rule.
Kuczynski has promised to invest in infrastructure projects and lower sales taxes to revive economic growth that has slowed with tumbling mineral prices.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016