Peru’s socialist party chief cites ‘victory’ as vote count nears

The nation’s electoral authority has not confirmed the win, but Pedro Castillo holds a tiny margin over Keiko Fujimori.

The leader of the socialist party that appears poised to win Peru’s presidential election claimed “victory” on Friday with its candidate Pedro Castillo holding a razor-thin margin over right-wing Keiko Fujimori. With more than 99.5 percent of votes tallied and only a handful of contested ballots to be added, Castillo had 50.2 percent of the vote, about 60,000 votes ahead of Fujimori who has pushed allegations of fraud, though with little proof. The country’s electoral authority has yet to confirm the win, but most observers and some regional left-wing leaders including those from Argentina and Bolivia have proclaimed Castillo as the victor.