With all votes counted, Kuczynski celebrates win in Peru election, but rival Fujimori refuses to concede

Former World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won the majority of votes in Peru’s closest presidential contest in five decades, election officials announced Thursday, even as his rival Keiko Fujimori had yet to concede defeat.

Four days after voting, electoral officials said that all ballots had been processed and Kuczynski had won 50.1 per cent compared to 49.9 per cent for the daughter of imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Supporters immediately celebrated outside Kuczynski’s campaign headquarters while the apparent president-elect made a plea for dialogue with his opponent and other rival political forces.

“We receive this virtual verdict with great humility because Peru has huge challenges ahead of it,” he told supporters. “We shouldn’t confuse dialogue with weakness. We’re going to be decisive but we’re going to work on behalf of all Peru because many Peruvians feel the train has left them behind and we want everyone to get on board.”

Despite the celebratory atmosphere, Fujimori’s campaign seemed in no rush to recognise defeat.

Pedro Spadaro, a congressman and aide to Fujimori, said that his campaign is waiting for the National Electoral Board, the nation’s top electoral authority which sits above the election officials who made Thursday’s announcement, to proclaim a winner before conceding.

Fujimori’s last hope is some 173 handwritten tallies — representing as many as 50,000 votes — that were sent for review. Among the irregularities detected were counting more ballots than actual voters at certain polling stations, and allegations that volunteers from Kuczynski’s campaign worked at multiple polling stations in violation of electoral law.