Between a teacher and the daughter of a former president: Peru decides its next president in a tight election

This Sunday, a left-wing professor and a newcomer to populist politics, Pedro Castillo, with a familiar name, the right-wing Keiko Fujimori, of the Fuerza Popular party, daughter of the jailed former president, face off in the most divided elections in Peru's recent history. Alberto Fujimori.

Castillo, of the Peru Libre party, was the unexpected winner of the first round in April, in which votes were divided among 18 candidates.

The teacher, who likes to campaign with a palm hat and often carries a large pencil, the symbol of his party,

obtained almost 19% of the votes, followed by Fujimori with 13.4%.

The president will be elected for the period from July 28, 2021 to July 28, 2026.

Peruvians choose this Sunday between two diametrically opposed country proposals

June 5, 202100: 59

Voting centers will open at 7 am and close at 7 pm.

Those inside the voting centers will be able to vote after closing time.

Voting is compulsory between the ages of 18 and 70.

Some 25 million Peruvians over the age of 18 are eligible to vote, out of a total population of 33 million.

The National Office of Electoral Processes will announce the first advances starting at 11:30 pm on Monday.

The national police and members of the armed forces have announced that they will ensure public order on voting day.

In addition, the electoral tribunal announced that there are 150 observers, including from the Organization of American States (OAS).

Presidential candidates Pedro Castillo (left), from the Peru Libre party, and Keiko Fujimori, from the Fuerza Popular party, bump fists during the signing of a 'Commitment to Democracy' before the second round, at the Peruvian School of Medicine in Lima on May 17, 2021.Ernesto Benavides / AFP via Getty Images

The candidates pledged an oath called the "Citizen Proclamation" that commits the winner of the June presidential elections to defend democracy, combat COVID-19, defend the right to life, guarantee human rights and freedom of the press. , as well as leaving the presidency after five years and not seeking reelection.

These are the two candidates

Pedro Castillo:

The 51-year-old leftist candidate is the surprise of the elections after emerging among 18 candidates.

It is the first time that he has disputed the presidency.

Castillo

spent 24 years teaching elementary school in his poor native village in the Andes.

He had a brief foray into politics when he ran for mayor of a district in that region two decades ago with no luck.

He became known in the country in 2017, when he

led a teachers' strike that lasted several months in order to raise their salaries.

Castillo proposes to rewrite the Constitution to allow the business activity of the State and to renegotiate contracts with mining, oil and gas companies.

He affirms that with the proceeds he will improve education and health.

[Peruvians choose this Sunday between two diametrically opposed country proposals]

Keiko Fujimori: She

is a candidate of the Fuerza Popular party and daughter of the imprisoned former president Alberto Fujimori, sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against human rights and corruption.

It is the third time that the 46-year-old candidate has run for president after losing in the second round in 2016 to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018).

In 2006 she was elected legislator with the highest number of votes in the country's history.

In 1994, when she was 19 years old, she became first lady after the separation of her parents, a position she held until 2000. She has a postgraduate degree in business from Columbia University in New York.

With information from AP and

BBC

.