Peru orders election audit as race tightens

Peru's National Jury of Elections (JNE) on ​Saturday requested a "comprehensive and exhaustive IT audit" of the ‌results of the general elections held on April 12, it said in a statement.

The final results of the first round of the elections ​remain unclear and the vote count is still incomplete ​with 97.5% of the ballots counted. No clear presidential ⁠rival has emerged to face conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori in ​a June run-off.

The JNE called for the independent audit "as a ​concrete and decisive step to strengthen the transparency, integrity, and reliability of the election results," the statement said.

Left-wing congressman Roberto Sanchez and ultra-conservative Rafael ​Lopez Aliaga remain deadlocked for second place, separated by roughly ​28,000 votes, as disputed tally sheets from more than 1 million ballots are being ‌reviewed ⁠in hopes of ascertaining the results.

A spokesperson for the JNE told Reuters that a possible audit would not interrupt the review of the contested ballots.

Peru's April election and the subsequent vote ​count have sparked ​widespread confusion ⁠in the Andean nation, with several candidates alleging fraud. On April 21, the head of Peru's ​electoral authority, Piero Corvetto, resigned over mounting pressure for ​clarity.


Corvetto ⁠had previously acknowledged logistical delays to the electoral process, but denied that any irregularities took place. European Union election observers said ⁠in April ​that they found no evidence of ​fraud.

Final results are expected no later than May 15, JNE officials said in ​April.

-Reuters