Peru still does not know who will be its next president and the UN has called for “calm to avoid a greater social divide”

Peru This Monday began a new week of uncertainty and pressure on the National election jury (JNE), which must Solve the challenges of voting and proclaim the winner of the June 6 poll between the right Keiko Fujimori and the leftist Pedro Castillo.

Eight days after the elections, Fujimori criticizes JNE, while its president, Jorge Luis Salas, warns that resolving issues with full polling stations takes “A minimum of time”, without giving a date for the verdict.

Fujimori, who is to be tried for alleged money laundering if he does not win the presidency, He denounced “fraud” and succeeded in asking the JNE within the legal deadline to cancel the votes of 151 polling stations out of the 802 he heard, even if for OAS observers, the vote was clear and “free from serious irregularities.”

In addition, the lawyer of the Fujimori Fuerza Popular party, Miracles Takayama, asked this Monday to make ato “audit” the process of digitizing voting tables, in a new interpellation of the electoral body (ONPE), while Castillo, who played only 14 tables in front of the JNE, ask for “serenity” to his supporters, feeling victorious.

The ONPE organizes the elections and counts the votes, while the JNE resolves the challenges and proclaims the winner.

Bachelet fears a “social divide”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle bachelet, expressed his to worry this Monday because of the tension in Peru after the elections.

“I am worried about how what should be a celebration of democracy turns into a focus of division, which is creating a growing divide in Peruvian society, ”Bachelet said in a statement.

The Chilean also argued that “electoral institutions and the decisions they make must be respected and assumed. If the rules of democracy are not accepted before, during and after elections, social cohesion can be dangerously broken.

“I call for reflection, calm and respect for democratic values ​​and non-discrimination, as well as the defense of human rights, all essential for coexistence in a society as rich and plural as Peru”, concluded .

The latest ONPE count gives Castillo an advantage of 48,000 votes (50.13% against 49.86% for Fujimori) with 99.94% of polls scrutinized, so now the whole process depends on what JNE decides to proclaim the winner.

The JNE, which takes stock of the issues since Thursday, has no peremptory deadline to decide, but analysts say we must hurry to end the uncertainty, which is fueling tension in the country.

In open court, The JNE reviewed 10 minutes of contested tables on Monday, but it’s unclear how many of the 165 in total remain to be resolved.

The uncertainty is such that if the process lasts until July 28, at the end of the mandate of interim president Francisco Sagasti, new congressional leader could assume the presidency and call new electionsFormer lawmaker Víctor Andrés García Belaunde told a local channel on Sunday.

“dangerous word”

The Peruvian Nobel Prize Mario Vargas Llosa, who supports Fujimori of Spain, said on Sunday that the JNE must assess the challenges presented by the candidate, but he was cautious about the “fraud” allegations.

“The word fraud is a very dangerous word […], perhaps it would be prudent, as long as the JNE does not pronounce itself, not to use the word fraud“he said in an interview with Channel N. “Failure […]Anyway, he will be very criticized ”. The writer repeated that in his opinion, a victory for Castillo would be a “disaster” for Peru.

The largest benches of the new Congress will be Free peru, the party of Castillo (37 seats), and Popular force, from Fujimori (24), out of a total of 130.

This means that the new president must seek alliances to pass laws (66 votes) or to save oneself from destitution, a very fast procedure in Peru for which 87 votes are necessary.

Fujimori and his court case

An anti-corruption prosecutor requested preventive detention for Fujimori on Thursday, for allegedly breaking his parole rules over illegal contributions from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.

Tax demand, which will be decided by a court on June 21added fuel to the fire amid a slow review, in a country mired in political upheaval that had three presidents in five days in November 2020.

(With information from AFP)

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