Calls for the resignation of Peru’s top election official are growing in the country as delays and allegations of irregularities continue to overshadow the vote count of the presidential elections held on April 12.

Keiko Fujimori, a conservative former candidate and daughter of ex-president Alberto Fujimori, has secured a place in the June runoff. 

According to Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), she is leading the count with 17% of the vote.

It is not clear, however, who she will face. With 93.3% of ballots counted by last Friday, there are two politicians from opposite sides of the political spectrum in the running for that slot.

The battle for second place remained extremely tight between left-wing lawmaker Roberto Sánchez (12%) and ultraconservative former Lima mayor Rafael López Aliaga (11.9%), the two separated by roughly 13,000 votes.

Peru’s electoral system requires a second round if no candidate wins more than 50% in the first round. The runoff is scheduled for June 7.

To make things worse, Piero Corvetto, the head of the National Office of Voting Processes (ONPE), resigned on April 22. In his letter of resignation he explained that his decision was due to “problems encountered in the distribution of electoral materials” in Metropolitan Lima, which, he indicated, prevented him from remaining in his position.

He also stated that, given the current context and with the presidential election vote count nearing completion, he considerd it necessary to step aside to facilitate the organization of the second round in a scenario that restores public confidence.

His general manager Bernardo Juan Pachas Serrano was designated interim chief of ONPE.

Two weeks more

Local watchdog group Transparencia said final results could still take up to two weeks, prolonging uncertainty in a country already marked by repeated political crises, with eight presidents in the last decade.

Pressure had focused on Corvetto, who faced criticism over logistical failures during the electoral process. Business groups and politicians from across the spectrum have argued a new official should oversee the runoff.

“Errors this serious have consequences,” Jorge Zapata, head of business federation CONFIEP, told radio station RPP.

Election authorities said about 5% of ballots had been set aside for review because of missing information or inconsistencies in polling-station records. Those votes must be examined by a special electoral panel before being added to the official tally.

Delays

Last week, Corvetto acknowledged delays in delivering materials that forced voting to be extended by a day in some areas, mainly Lima. Those problems fueled fraud accusations, especially from López Aliaga, who has called for the count to be halted. 

Corvetto has denied any irregularities.

Peru’s National Jury of Elections has also filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors against Corvetto, alleging possible offenses, including violations of voting rights. 

Separately, police opened an investigation after materials from four polling stations were found on a public road in Lima on Thursday. ONPE said on X that votes from those stations had already been entered into the count.

European Union election observers said this week they had found no evidence of fraud.