Peruvians wait to learn who will be president

Peruvians are still waiting to learn who will become their president next month as votes from Sunday’s runoff election are being counted and the tiny difference between the two polarizing populist candidates has narrowed

LIMA, Peru -- Peruvians on Tuesday were still waiting to learn who will become their president next month as votes from Sunday’s runoff election continued to be counted and the tiny difference between the two polarizing populist candidates narrowed. With 97% of ballots tallied, leftist Pedro Castillo had 50.2% of the vote, while conservative Keiko Fujimori had 49.7%, according to official results. The difference between the candidates was about 69,600 votes. Peru’s elections agency, the National Office of Electoral Processes, continued to count votes cast in remote rural areas and abroad. The candidates did not issue any statements Tuesday. A day earlier Fujimori, who is in her third run for president, charged that her rival’s campaign staff carried out a “a series of irregularities” during the election, but she did not present conclusive evidence. She predicted her support would increase when votes from Peruvians living abroad were counted.