Peru Reviews Contested Ballots, Delaying Runoff

Peru's electoral authorities on Monday launched a review of thousands of contested ballots from the April 12 presidential election, further delaying the official results and leaving the field open for a June 7 runoff between conservative leader Keiko Fujimori and an undetermined challenger. The process, involving public hearings on disputed tally sheets, has stalled the count amid challenges to roughly 6 percent of polling stations, representing more than one million votes, primarily due to inconsistencies, missing information or errors.

With nearly 94 percent of ballots tallied, Fujimori holds a steady lead at about 17 percent, according to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE). The race for second place remains razor-thin between leftist congressman Roberto Sanchez, an ally of jailed former President Pedro Castillo, and ultraconservative former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga. Sanchez currently leads with 12.0 percent of the vote, edging out Lopez Aliaga's 11.9 percent by approximately 13,000 votes. This narrow margin has fluctuated over the past week, with Sanchez gaining ground as votes from rural areas outside the capital are processed, offsetting urban and...