Leftist candidate Pedro Castillo has been formally declared as President-elect of Peru, by the country’s National Electoral Court (JNE), after a month of delays due to baseless claims of ‘fraud’ by far-right candidate Keiko Fujimori.
Hours before the official announcement, the JNE stated that they had rejected appeals by Fujimori to annul the results of the June 6th vote. In response, Fujimori vowed to accept the results but insisted that declaring Castillo as the winner is ‘illegitimate’.
“Today I announce that in fulfilling my commitment to all Peruvians, to Mario Vargas Llosa, to the international community, I will acknowledge the results because it is demanded by the law and the constitution that I have sworn to defend…the defense of democracy does not end with the illegitimate promulgation of Pedro Castillo, this defense has just begun”, said the defeated candidate.
Vote counting finished weeks ago but the authorities have delayed the announcement due to legal obstacles placed by Fujimori. Three countries recognized Castillo’s win once votes had been counted; Argentina, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. Castillo thanked all three in a victory rally at the time.