The presidential candidate for Juntos por el Perú, Roberto Sánchez, has urged that the results of the general elections be accepted without question, at a time when the official count already places him as the second most supported candidate at the polls, only behind Keiko Fujimori. In parallel, several of his rivals have begun to stir up the specter of electoral fraud.
"We invoke and tell all of Peru, the social forces, that we will be attentive, that they be vigilant to our call. As soon as there is an indication of not wanting to respect the citizen's vote, we will call for a mobilization, for democratic defense," Sánchez has announced, according to the newspaper 'La República'.
In his message, the left-wing leader has also appealed to the international community to supervise the process and avoid episodes similar to those of previous elections, after the conservative candidate Rafael López Aliaga has denounced without providing evidence an alleged theft of 1.6 million votes.
"We call on the international community to accompany and keep vigil so that the citizen's vote is respected in a sacred manner. Without narratives of fraud like the previous process. The Andean, Amazonian, rural vote will be respected," he/she has emphasized.
López Aliaga conveyed his complaints in recent hours during a rally in front of the headquarters of the National Elections Jury (JNE), in Lima. Shortly after it became known that, with 89% of the ballots counted, Sánchez had already overtaken him in the count.
The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) —questioned because some polling stations could not open normally and had to postpone the vote until Monday due to lack of material— places Fujimori in first position, with 16% of the votes, followed by Sánchez and López Aliaga, both with 11.9%.
Between these last two there are barely about 3,000 votes, a minimal difference that will be decisive in determining who will accompany Fujimori in the second round scheduled for June 7, in which the leader of Fuerza Popular will play for her pass to the Presidency in her fourth elections.
In the last of those appointments, in 2021, Fujimori lost by a narrow margin against Pedro Castillo. After this Sunday's election day, Sánchez went on Monday to visit him at Barbadillo prison, where the former president is serving an eleven-year sentence for the attempted self-coup of 2022.
During the campaign, Sánchez has promised to strengthen infrastructure and expand the rights of the Andean, Amazonian, and historically neglected rural communities. Likewise, he has reiterated his commitment to grant a pardon to Castillo in case he reaches the head of state.