Pressure mounts on Peru’s election authorities amid presidential race delay | Elections News
Peru’s Presidential Vote Count Faces Scrutiny Amid Delays
Publication Date: April 17, 2026
The count of ballots from Peru’s recent general election continues as officials work to determine which candidate will face conservative Keiko Fujimori in the presidential run-off scheduled for June 7.
Calls for the resignation of Piero Corvetto, head of the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), have intensified due to delays and reports of irregularities surrounding the vote count. As of Friday, no definitive challenger has emerged to oppose Fujimori, the current frontrunner.
The general election took place on Sunday, but an extension was granted for ballot distribution amid reported logistical challenges. According to ONPE, leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez and former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga remain in a tight contest for second place, with only about 13,000 votes separating them.
With 93.3 percent of votes accounted for, Fujimori leads with 17 percent, while Sanchez has secured 12 percent and Lopez Aliaga follows closely with 11.9 percent. Local election-monitoring group Transparencia has indicated that the final results may take up to two weeks to finalize.
The vote counting process has been delayed further due to approximately 5 percent of ballots requiring review for missing information or discrepancies in polling station records. A special electoral jury will examine these ballots before they are incorporated into the final tally, ONPE officials reported.
Business leaders and lawmakers from various political factions are urging Corvetto to resign, suggesting that a new leader should oversee the upcoming run-off. Jorge Zapata, head of the business chamber CONFIEP, emphasized the seriousness of the reported errors.
Corvetto has admitted to logistical delays that resulted in a one-day voting extension, primarily affecting Lima. In response, Lopez Aliaga raised allegations of potential fraud and called for the vote count to be halted, a claim that Corvetto has denied.
The National Jury of Elections, Peru’s highest electoral court, has filed a criminal complaint against Corvetto citing alleged violations of voting rights. Corvetto’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additionally, an investigation is underway following the discovery of election materials from four polling stations left on a public road in Lima. ONPE confirmed that the votes from these locations had already been recorded for counting.
European Union election observers have stated they found no evidence of fraud in their preliminary assessments.
