On Thursday, the far-left coalition Together for Peru requested that nearly 90% of foreign votes from Peruvians in the United States be declared invalid in the presidential runoff set for June 7. They allege there was “irregular interference” from Peru’s foreign ministry favoring the conservative candidate, Keiko Fujimori.
This move could eliminate a substantial amount of the foreign vote, which is crucial for Fujimori and other conservative candidates in what remains a tightly contested election.
As of Friday, Peruvian election officials were still tallying votes in the presidential runoff between Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez, with no official results available to determine the next president of the South American nation five days post-election.
Peru’s National Elections Office (ONPE) indicated that Fujimori was currently in second place, with a lead of 1,303 votes over Sánchez, having garnered 98.258 percent of the total. The conservative candidate, who previously served as Peru’s first lady, regained an edge in the race early Thursday following the arrival of the last batch of foreign voting results. Peruvians participated in the runoff at over 2,500 foreign polling stations across nearly 70 countries worldwide.
The Together for Peru coalition submitted a request to a special court in Lima on Thursday to invalidate all votes from the 647 polling stations set up for the U.S. elections. An Argentine outlet reviewed the complaint, which alleges that Peru’s Foreign Ministry directed poll workers to “encourage voters” to support Fujimori.
The allegations also detail various instances of operational “misconduct” that allegedly took place at polling sites in New York, North Carolina, Salt Lake City, and other locations.
According to the preliminary counts by ONPE, Fujimori secured a commanding 76.55 percent of votes from Peruvians in the United States, while Sánchez received 23.4 percent. By Friday morning, 95.8% of votes from Peruvians in the U.S. had been counted, with Fujimori receiving 44,440 votes compared to Sánchez’s 13,607. Polling stations were established in 22 cities across the U.S. for the runoff, and Fujimori won decisively in all locations.
On Thursday, the Popular Power party, supporting Fujimori, also accused Together for Peru of attempting to invalidate over 600 foreign ballots and approximately 1,700 domestic ones due to alleged “fraud.” Lewis Dyer, a representative for Popular Force in the runoff, stated the party remained “calm” and their legal team was assessing the situation. Dyer expects an election outcome to be known between late June and early July.
He expressed skepticism about the left-wing coalition’s request, asserting it lacked “legal basis.” Dyer mentioned it was within their rights to contest the results and noted the costs involved would be around 3 million Peruvian soles (close to $882,500). He further claimed that Together for Peru sought to invalidate voting minutes already signed by their representatives, suggesting they were trying to dismiss results where they had lost.
“I assure the public that we have confirmed the entire process was fair and that we are well-prepared to confront such challenges,” Dyer remarked.
Fujimori addressed the situation on Thursday, stating there was “no basis for an annulment.” However, she acknowledged the left-wing coalition’s right to challenge the outcome before national authorities. The conservative candidate expressed willingness to engage with Sánchez’s party, emphasizing that she would await the official results first.
