The final result of the presidential runoff in Peru, which is closely led by the leftist Roberto Sánchez over the rightist Keiko Fujimori, will be known within a period of two weeks or even more, said the head of the electoral authority in charge of the scrutiny.

With 96% of the minutes counted, Sánchez obtains 50.05% of the votes compared to 49.94% for Fujimori, a difference of 40,000 votes in a very polarized election.

The scrutiny of Sunday's election “could take between two weeks or until the end of the month,” depending on the observations of the minutes that are recorded, said the head of the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Bernardo Pachas.

To declare a winner, in addition, contested records containing some 450,000 votes must be reviewed, which can take days.

Counting could conclude in July

The authority did not rule out that the count could be extended even until the beginning of July, since it will depend on the speed with which the records arrive from abroad and from the rural areas of the country.

A sample of quick count reports from two private pollsters, Ipsos and Datum, showed Sánchez as the winner by less than one point on Sunday, in a technical tie. Supporters of the leftist leader celebrated it as a victory in the streets.

The adjusted result of the quick count motivated Alfredo Torres, president of Ipsos Peru, to specify that the sample has a margin of error of 1.9%. For this reason and the factors pending scrutiny, “it is possible that the figures may be reversed or expanded,” according to what he told the newspaper Perú 21.

The runoff pitted the daughter of the late former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) of the Fuerza Popular party, with Sánchez, from Together for Peru and political heir of former president Pedro Castillo, imprisoned after a failed self-coup d'état in 2022.

It is the fourth time that Keiko Fujimori, 51, has competed for the presidency. Meanwhile, for Sánchez, 57, it is his first application.

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