Electoral chaos continues in Peru: Hundreds of people march with Rafael López Aliaga to demand new election after being left out of runoff against Fujimori

Conservative presidential candidate Rafael López Aliaga pleaded the authorities to call new elections in Peru within 48 hours, after threatening to not recognize the results that excluded him from the second round. The former Lima mayor led a new march of hundreds of supporters in rejection of the results of the chaotic April 12 vote.

His rival, leftist Roberto Sánchez, advanced to the second round and will face right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori, after reaching an irreversible lead when the vote count advanced to 99.98%. The candidate of the coalition Together for Peru accumulated 12% of the support, against 11.9% for Lápez Aliaga, whom he surpassed by some 20,000 votes.

The National Jury of Elections "has a term of 48 hours to declare new elections until Sunday," said López Aliaga. On that day, the electoral authority plans to officially proclaim the results of the first round, which was marked by logistical failures.

"The only way to defeat me has been cheating"

"The day they declare their candidate list we are going to contest it. ... The only way to defeat me has been cheating, and an illegitimate government is not recognized. They know the tremendous fraud they are doing, they have lost records. What process is this? They have done everything wrong," protested the far-right-wing leader.

Keiko Fujimori, of the Popular Force party, leads the results of the first round with 17.1% of the votes.

During the first round, delays in the shipment of electoral material prevented more than 50,000 voters from casting their ballots, forcing authorities to extend voting for an extra day. However, a mission of European Union observers reported that it found no elements to support a "narrative of fraud."

Fujimori and Sánchez will vie for the Peruvian presidency on June 7, amid severe political instability. Peru has had eight presidents since 2016.