LIMA, May 17 (Reuters) – Peru’s top electoral authority pledged on Sunday to correct “flaws” that delayed April’s first-round election results by a month ahead of a presidential runoff scheduled for June 7.
The National Elections Board (JNE) officially proclaimed right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sanchez as the two finalists for the presidency. The board also announced the formation of a committee of national and international experts to assist with oversight during the second round.
“We cannot deny that there were many difficulties and flaws in the logistical deployment by the organizing entity, ONPE,” JNE President Roberto Burneo told a press conference.
The April 12 elections were marred by delays in opening polling stations, which forced voting to extend an extra day, primarily in the capital Lima. The complications prompted allegations of fraud from ultraconservative candidate Rafael Lopez Aliaga, who narrowly finished in third place.
Burneo said the new five-member oversight team includes academics from Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and Puerto Rico with expertise in cybersecurity and electoral materials.
“We have incorporated all the lessons learned from the first round and are strengthening oversight,” Burneo said.
Following the official announcement of the finalists, Lopez Aliaga’s party said it would request the annulment of the first-round results. The JNE said the results were “final and unappealable.”
“The electoral fraud in Peru has just been consummated,” Lopez Aliaga said in a post on X. “We will not accept results that are the product of fraud and corruption.”
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Mark Porter)
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