LIME.– The electoral observation mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Peru He asked the population to wait calmly for the results of the runoff to elect the new presidentafter reporting that the day passes “calmly and in peace”, despite some incidents reported.
“We have been present in around 300 electoral precincts and the day is developing calmly and peacefully. The problems that have arisen have been resolved in accordance with current regulations,” said the head of the mission, the Bolivian Víctor Rico.
The 92 OAS observers, deployed throughout Peruvian territory for the second round, reported a participation of 35% in the middle of the day, in which voting takes place between 7:00 and 17:00 local time (between 12:00 and 22:00 GMT).
Called to vote in Peru
“We call on Peruvians who have not yet voted to go out and vote, because it is a very important day for Peruvian democracy,” Rico said.
It is the day when sovereignty returns to the people. “Citizens have to express themselves through their vote and calmly wait for the results,” he said.
More than 27.3 million voters were called to vote in the runoff to choose between Keiko Fujimori, for Fuerza Popular and daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), and Roberto Sánchez, for Together for Peru, as the country’s next president, after years of political instability.
Incidents in the elections
Electoral authorities reported 15 incidents recorded throughout the country, and rejected any narrative of fraud in the process.
Among them, the arrest of two observers from the leftist party Together for Peru, candidate Sánchez, and Fuerza Popular, was reported for having marked 90 voting cards at a location in Lima.
The president of the National Election Jury (JNE), Roberto Burneo, confirmed that the arrest of the two people in a voting center in Lima and recalled that marking ballots is an electoral crime subject to criminal sanctions.
However, he did not clarify which political party the apprehended observers belonged to.
“This incident has already been reported, the measures of the case have already been taken through the crime prevention prosecutor. There have been two officials who have already been arrested, the number of disabled cards is 90,” said Burneo in a press conference in which the progress of the election day was reported normally, but in the midst of tensions.
