The Special Electoral Jury (JEE) of Peru has resolved this Friday to declare "inadmissible" the appeal for annulment filed by presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez, with which he sought to nullify 2,400 polling stations corresponding to the second round of elections.
The electoral body has rejected the challenge, considering that Sánchez's party did not comply with an essential formal requirement: to provide the original proof of payment of the electoral fee. "It is noted that the applicant did not attach the original payment receipt for the corresponding electoral fee, and since this is an uncorrectable requirement, it is appropriate to declare its inadmissibility," the National Electoral Jury (JNE) stated in an official note.
Sánchez's candidacy sought to invalidate 1,751 polling stations installed in Peruvian territory and another 649 abroad, areas in which his opponent, the right-wing Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza Popular), achieved majority support, alleging supposed "patterns of exact repetition" of votes compared to the first round.
The lawyer for the left-wing coalition, Carlos Zafra, maintained that serious and systematic indications of "electoral fraud" were observed. In response, the legal representation of Fuerza Popular, led by Luis Dyer, flatly denied the accusations and argued that "if one files a request for annulment, one must present evidence."
A nail-biting count in the presidential election
This setback for the left comes in a context of maximum equality between the two contenders. With 98.3% of the ballots processed, Fujimori leads the count with 50.01% of the votes, just about 4,000 votes ahead of her opponent. Specifically, as of Saturday morning, the Fuerza Popular candidate has accumulated 9,043,383 ballots, while the Juntos por el Perú candidate has reached 9,039,075.
Fujimori, who has once again taken the lead over Sánchez after regaining the top spot in the count last Thursday, told the media that her party, "regardless of who wins," is not only willing to "dialogue" but also assumes that it will have to do so during the next five-year term.
"We will await the results from ONPE to then, I hope, be able to talk with Roberto Sánchez," the Fuerza Popular candidate reiterated on Friday.
Meanwhile, and "given the extreme narrowness of the electoral result", Sánchez has formally invited his rival this Saturday to hold a meeting as soon as possible with the aim of "acting jointly in defense of transparency and citizen trust".
"Beyond who finally wins, the current difference is so small that Peru deserves that no doubt remains about the will expressed at the polls. Therefore, I propose that we jointly request an exhaustive review and recount of the votes in all those minutes that legislation allows to be reviewed, with full respect for electoral institutions and current regulations," he stated.
After analyzing the requests from Sánchez's candidacy and other appeals filed, the definitive proclamation of the official results is expected to be delayed again, as already happened in the first round of elections.