LIMA, Peru (AP) 鈥� Presidential candidate Roberto S谩nchez said Tuesday that he’ll refuse to recognize results of Peru鈥檚 if officials count ballots cast by Peruvians overseas that he alleges were processed improperly.
With 99.72% of votes counted, S谩nchez trails conservative candidate by just 40,000 votes and is expected to lose the election, once authorities finish processing tally sheets. More than 18 million Peruvians participated in the runoff.
S谩nchez, a former commerce minister who is popular in rural areas and among Peru鈥檚 Indigenous population, would win the election if votes cast by Peruvians living abroad are discarded, according to data published by election authorities.
S谩nchez鈥檚 campaign has filed a petition to reject overseas ballots, arguing that Peruvian consulates abroad did not use a government-provided app to scan tally sheets as required by law.
Peru鈥檚 Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that, in late May, it had obtained authorization from electoral officials to conduct voting at consulates without scanning tally sheets, but by sending them directly to the capital, Lima, to be processed after voting ended.
The ministry said the change was made because of problems with the scanning app during the first round. S谩nchez鈥檚 campaign argues that the procedural change created opportunities for fraud, an allegation denied by both Peru鈥檚 national elections agency, ONPE, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
鈥淯nder these conditions of transgression of the rules, we will not recognize the government of Miss (Keiko) Fujimori,鈥� S谩nchez said Tuesday.
More than 307,000 Peruvians living abroad voted in the June 7 runoff between S谩nchez and Fujimori, with 65% of them supporting Fujimori, according to ONPE.
Fujimori has not commented on S谩nchez鈥檚 request to annul the overseas votes.
The conservative candidate, who campaigned on a tough on crime platform, won an overwhelming majority of votes cast by Peruvians living in the United States, Argentina and Japan, where her paternal grandparents were born.
S谩nchez, an ally of imprisoned former , has promised to make reforms to the nation鈥檚 mining sector that would give community groups a stake in copper and gold mines. His campaign easily defeated Fujimori in mountainous areas of southern Peru that have long suffered from economic exclusion, but fell behind Fujimori in Lima, where about a third of Peru鈥檚 voters are based.
Peru has had eight presidents in the past decade, only two of whom were elected by popular vote. The others replaced presidents who resigned or were removed by Peru鈥檚 Congress amid corruption allegations.
Despite the political instability Peru has maintained stable economic policies that have enabled the country to be one of the fastest-growing economies in South America.
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