Thousands of Peruvians supporting socialist Pedro Castillo and right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori on Saturday took to the streets amid uncertainty over the result of a tight June 6 presidential election that has been held up by legal challenges.
Castillo supporters marched in downtown Lima toward Plaza San Martin, a block from the headquarters of the electoral jury that must decide the outcome, with giant banners and photographs of the socialist candidate, calling for his apparent election win to be confirmed.
A few blocks away, thousands of others supporting Fujimori paraded with Peruvian flags and banners that read “no to fraud,” arriving at the Plaza Bolognesi.
Photo: Reuters
Castillo holds a slender 44,000-vote lead over Fujimori with all ballots counted, but his rival has sought to disqualify votes, largely in rural areas that backed the leftist, making claims of fraud with little evidence.
Castillo’s Free Peru party has denied the allegations of fraud while international election observers have said the vote was carried out cleanly.
The US Department of State described the process as a “model of democracy.”
In Fujimori’s march were members of various right and center-right parties, as well as retired military personnel who have backed her fraud claims.
Many had banners saying “No to communism,” a criticism often aimed at Castillo.
“We are not Chavistas, we are not communists, we are not going to take away property from anyone, that is false... We are democratic,” Castillo told supporters on Saturday night. “The differences, the inequalities, are over.”
Fujimori told her supporters on Saturday evening that she simply wanted electoral justice. “What we want is for all these irregularities to be analyzed,” she said.
The already tense election process was plunged into disarray this week after one of the four magistrates on the jury reviewing contested ballots quit after clashing with the other officials over requests to nullify votes.
On Saturday, the electoral jury swore in a replacement to allow the process to restart, key to restoring stability in the nation, which has been rattled by the tight vote.
“Electoral justice cannot be paralyzed or blocked, much less in this phase of the process,” Peruvian National Jury of Elections President Jorge Salas said. “These interruptive arts will not prosper.”
The election jury would restart its work reviewing contested ballots today, a spokeswoman for the body said.
It must complete the review before an official result can be announced.
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