Peru's Fujimori holds tight lead in vote, Castillo narrowing gap
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[June 07, 2021] LIMA/TACABAMBA,
Peru (Reuters) -Conservative Keiko Fujimori was clinging to a razor-thin
lead in Peru's presidential election race early on Monday but socialist
rival Castillo Pedro was narrowing the gap, setting up a likely photo
finish.
Uncertainty pervades a deeply polarized Peru over who will be its next
president, with the official count showing Fujimori with 50.5% and
Castillo on around 49.5%, with around 90% of the vote counted and the
gap narrowing with late votes expected to be more rural, favoring the
leftist candidate.
An unofficial fast count late on Sunday by Ipsos Peru gave Castillo a
fractional lead after an exit poll had said rival Fujimori would eke out
a win, leaving the copper-rich Andean country, investors and mining
firms guessing.
The likely photo finish could lead to days of uncertainty and tension,
with the vote underscoring a sharp divide between capital city Lima and
the nation's rural hinterland that has propelled Castillo's unexpected
rise.
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Lucia Dammert, a Peruvian academic based in Chile, predicted that the
coming days would be febrile, with potential challenges to the votes and
requests for recounts. She forecast protests particularly if Fujimori
were to win.
"What is clear is that if Keiko wins she is going to have to shut
herself up in a fortress in Lima and just stomach what will happen in
the rest of the country," she said.
As first results trickled in on Sunday evening, 51-year-old Castillo,
the son of peasant farmers who has pledged to shake up Peru's
constitution and mining laws, had rallied supporters to "defend the
vote", though later called for calm.
Fujimori, 46, the daughter of ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who is in
jail for human rights abuses and corruption, also appealed for
"prudence, calm and peace from both groups".
'HEIGHTENED UNCERTAINTY'
J.P. Morgan said in a note that it could be days before the final
outcome of the election was clear, and the two candidates might opt to
wait for this process to finish before declaring victory or conceding
defeat.
On Monday morning, Fujimori had 8.1 million votes to Castillo's 8
million, with a gap of 135,116 that was steadily narrowing. The
slower-to-count rural vote is expected to help Castillo, though
uncounted overseas ballots could aid Fujimori.
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![](../images/060721pics/news_r33.jpg)
Supporters of Peru's presidential candidate Pedro Castillo follow a
newscast on the first results of a run-off election between Castillo
and Keiko Fujimori, in Tacabamba, Peru June 6, 2021.
REUTERS/Alessandro Cinque
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"Unless the too-close-to-call scenario depicted by
the quick count proves wrong, we seem poised for a number of days of
heightened uncertainty ahead," J.P. Morgan said.
The tense election, which came after Peru went through three
presidents in a week last year, has buffeted its currency and debt
markets, while mining firms fear Castillo could usher in more state
intervention in the sector.
Analysts also say, however, that whoever wins will have a weakened
mandate given the sharp divisions in Peru, and will face a
fragmented Congress with no one party holding a majority,
potentially stalling any major reforms.
The two candidates pledged vastly different remedies for a country
that has suffered corruption scandals in recent years and a sharp
economic slump brought on by the world's deadliest per capita
COVID-19 outbreak.
Fujimori has pledged to follow the free-market model and maintain
economic stability in Peru, the world's second largest copper
producer, with a "a mother's firm hand." nL2N2NL2KR
Castillo, who has become a champion for the poor, has promised to
redraft the constitution to strengthen the role of the state and
take a larger portion of profits from mining firms.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino in Lima and Marcelo Rochabrun in
Tacabamba; Writing by Aislinn Laing and Adam Jourdan; editing by
Mark Heinrich)
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