Peru’s Fujimori loses allies as attempt to reverse election results fails

LIMA (Reuters) – Peru’s right – wing presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, who fought to oust the first results of the June 6 election, has been shown to be behind his socialist rival, Puntarenas Castillo.

Castillo, who upset the Andean political establishment, took a small lead with 44,000 votes and all the votes were counted, although the decision was postponed because Fujimori wanted to abstain from voting, claiming it was fraud.

The attempt seems to have failed as potential allies distanced themselves from Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who is currently in prison for corruption and human rights abuses.

A weekly editorial in the Conservative newspaper El Comrizio, one of the most powerful media outlets in South America that Fujimori generally supported, said it was “already enough.”

“It is clear today that proper legal means have begun to be used to question the suitability of certain ballots … and are beginning to become an attempt by various political parties to slow down the process as much as possible.”

Castillo’s Free Peru Party and the Electoral College have denied all allegations of fraud, and international election observers say the vote was clean. The U.S. State Department also called it a “model of democracy.”

On Monday, Fujimori went to the government palace and handed over a letter to interim President Francisco Sagast, which called for an international referendum. His claims were supported by some voters and some retired soldiers.

The election arbitrator, who was forced to stop counting the votes cast after a judge submitted his resignation, began work on Monday and completed the process and announced the final results.

Chairman of the Central Bank?

Court elections divided the country between the wealthy urban elite and the poorer rural areas. On Saturday, thousands of Peruvians from both sides took to the streets. read more

Castillo, a 51-year-old former teacher and farmer’s son, plans to rewrite the constitution for investors and mining companies and retain more profits from mineral resources, including copper.

However, he has sought to address these fears by appointing more moderate economic advisers, who said over the weekend that he would like to have the esteemed central bank chairman Giulio Velardi as the key symbol for stabilizing markets. read more

Pointe–Frank, a left-wing economist and now Castillo’s economic spokesman, spoke with candidate Valardi on Monday, saying he would step down in July at the end of the current government.

“At the organizational level, that’s the most important thing,” Frank told local radio exotosa, adding that there are still many jobs to keep Valardi staying.

“Actually, Giulio Velardiியே said, ‘Well, I’m a little tired, I’ll think about it. We agreed to meet after the official confirmation of Point Pedro Castillo, so we can have an official meeting.’

Says Marco Aquino. Edited by Adam Jordan and Dan Grepler

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