Peru’s socialist party chief Pedro Castillo cites ‘victory’ as vote count nears end
- Official results showed leftist Pedro Castillo retaining a slim lead over Keiko Fujimori
- Fujimori has accused Castillo’s Peru Libre Party of tampering with ballots and asked for the annulment of 200,000 votes and the review of another 300,000
Tensions were rising on the streets of the Peruvian capital as supporters of the presidential candidates began to lose patience on the fifth day of the vote count, with official results showing leftist Pedro Castillo retaining a slim lead over Keiko Fujimori.
Supporters of Castillo began to gather in downtown Lima after reports that the Electoral Court was considering extending the deadline for parties to seek the annulment of suspicious ballots that already expired Wednesday evening.
“If it’s true that the JNE is planning to extend the deadline to annul ballots, they’d be violating the electoral order,” Castillo wrote on his Twitter account, in reference to the court.
“I call on the president of the JNE to respond to provide legal certainty to the process,” he said. “Finally, I call on the Peruvian people to stay on alert.”
Fujimori has accused Castillo’s Peru Libre Party of tampering with ballots and asked for the annulment of 200,000 votes and the review of another 300,000. The Electoral Court did not reply to requests for comment on whether it was considering an extension of the deadline.