Leftist Roberto Sánchez appeals to the IACHR against Keiko Fujimori's victory in Peru
The National Elections Board, Peru’s highest electoral court, had previously rejected a request by Sánchez to invalidate overseas votes, deeming his arguments unfounded.
Keiko Fujimori in Lima / Connie France
The leftist candidate defeated in the presidential election in Peru, Roberto Sánchez, announced on Wednesday that he had filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) challenging the victory of right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.
Sánchez alleges alleged fraud in the votes cast by Peruvians abroad, for which he filed a “precautionary measure” with the IACHR, his party, Juntos por el Perú, reported in a statement sent to the press.
World
Peru: Leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez demands overseas votes be invalidated
Carlos Dominguez
Another attempt to overturn the result
The petition was announced two days after Peru’s electoral authority completed the vote count, according to which Fujimori was elected with 50.13% of the votes in the runoff on June 7, compared to 49.86% for Sánchez.
According to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), the margin is less than 50,000 votes.
The National Elections Board, Peru’s highest electoral court, had previously rejected a request by Sánchez to invalidate overseas votes, deeming his arguments unfounded.
The leftist candidate asserts that if the overseas votes—which overwhelmingly favored Fujimori—are discarded, he would be the winner of the election, according to AFP.
He claims there was a “change in the rules in the middle of the electoral process, preventing the digitization of overseas voting records” at Peruvian consulates during the runoff, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
A warning of contempt
The National Elections Board, the country’s highest electoral court, is scheduled to officially declare Fujimori president-elect this Friday.
The return of Fujimorism to power
The 51-year-old president-elect is scheduled to receive her credentials on July 15 and take office on July 28.
She will replace the interim president José María Balcázar, to serve until 2031.
Her victory marks the return of Fujimorism to power, more than two decades after the departure of her father, former President Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000), whose legacy deeply divides Peruvians.
Fujimori’s victory adds to the string of recent electoral wins by right-wing leaders in Latin America, some with the explicit backing of U.S. President Donald Trump.
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