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Pedro Castillo: The 51-year-old came with around 44,000 votes ahead of 50.12 percent
Photo: Guadalupe Prado / AP
A good six weeks ago, the left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo and the right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori ran the runoff election for president in Peru.
After weeks of uncertainty, the election winner has now been determined: the national election supervision authority (JNE) declared the left-wing unionist and teacher Castillo to be the official election winner on Monday, thereby confirming the preliminary election result.
The 51-year-old came with around 44,000 votes ahead of 50.12 percent.
His opponent, the right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori, achieved 49.87 percent.
"Dear compatriots, I have an open heart for each and every one of you."
Pedro Castillo
"Dear compatriots, I have an open heart for each and every one of you," said Castillo from the balcony of his party headquarters in Lima after the official election results became known.
In a conciliatory gesture, he called on Fujimori to help "advance the country."
After the June 6 vote, Fujimori had spoken of electoral fraud and requested that thousands of votes be examined and recounted.
However, she did not provide any substantiated evidence to support her allegations of fraud.
Shortly before the JNE's decision, however, it had declared that it would recognize the result "because it is required by the law and the constitution, which I have sworn to defend."
Fujimori faces corruption charges
A lot was at stake for the 46-year-old.
She is now facing charges in corruption proceedings and, if convicted, up to 30 years imprisonment.
Former President Alberto Fujimori's daughter is accused of accepting money from companies for her 2011 and 2016 election campaigns.
She denies the allegations.
In the event of an election victory, she would have been protected from criminal prosecution for the time being because of her immunity as head of state.
Castillo is due to be sworn in on July 28th.
He is already the fifth president in three years.
The South American country has been repeatedly shaken by crises and corruption scandals in recent years.
Seven of the last ten presidents have either been convicted of corruption or under investigation.
The left trade unionist had surprisingly prevailed against 17 opponents in April and went into the runoff election against Fujimori with the election promise to create better living conditions for the Peruvians.
The South American country is struggling with growing unemployment, poverty and a recession that was exacerbated by the corona pandemic.
Controversial election promises
Castillo wants to create a million new jobs within a year and nationalize the mining and hydrocarbon reserves of the country.
To stimulate the economy, he promised public investments, including in infrastructure projects.
But some of his election promises are also controversial.
Among other things, he wants to campaign for the expulsion of illegal immigrants who have committed criminal offenses within 72 hours.
These statements were seen as a threat to thousands of Venezuelans who had fled to Peru because of the crisis in their homeland.
The devout Catholic is also an opponent of gay marriage, the general right to abortion and euthanasia.
He also wants to reintroduce the death penalty.
asc / dpa / AfP