LIMA (Reuters) – Socialist Pedro Castillo, who led the vote counting in Peru’s presidential election, called on Friday for unity and even made some plans for a possible government while awaiting the official announcement of the election winner.
The announcement of the next president was delayed due to the suspension of one of the four electoral jury members, who was unable to finish requests to cancel votes by right-wing Keiko Fujimori, who denounced the fraud without further evidence.
Castillo, a 51-year-old primary school teacher and farmer’s son, attended Friday’s summit of the regional governors of the mining nation held in the southeastern Peruvian tourist city of Cusco where he criticized the historical history. Centralization of government towards the capital.
“Inside Peru there are other kinds of states, they are diverse, plural, multiethnic, and that is why we are here,” Castillo said on the occasion that the union of regional authorities was called.
“On this journey there are no winners or losers, today we are one family, and today it is the Peruvian people who need to order us to start this developmental achievement,” he said.
The leftist candidate came first in the June 6 election, just 40,058 votes ahead of Fujimori, who filed legal prosecutions for nullifying 200,000 votes for allegedly having forged signatures on voting tables, mostly in rural and impoverished areas, where she was the daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto. Fujimori with great support.
The polarized election deeply divided Peruvians, and dozens of supporters of both candidates clashed on Thursday with flag poles and banners hoisted in front of the electoral jury headquarters in Lima. New rallies are scheduled on both sides on Saturday.
“I can’t go any further because even if I am an elected government, we are waiting for the jury to say the last word and what I have to say I will say when I have that official document, because there is a lot that needs to be done,” Castillo said. During his speech.broadcast live on local TV.
Acting President Francisco Sagaste attended the same meeting of governors in Cusco on Thursday, who hope to hand the position to his successor on July 28 for a five-year term.
Castillo said he would not abandon his plan to rewrite the constitution, an election campaign offer to boost the role of the state and preserve more profits for mining companies, which has worried investors and rattled markets.
“We will not change the language and we will not change the message, but I ask that you, as provincial governors, be the first to be called to participate in the upcoming National Constituent Assembly,” Castillo said.
International observers in Lima, including the Organization of American States (OAS) mission, stated that the elections in Peru were transparent. The same was said by the EU office, while the US State Department said they were a “model of democracy”.
Meanwhile, from Fujimori’s party, the country’s political, economic and business elite that supports the conservative candidate has asked the government to ask the Organization of American States to conduct a review of the electoral process similar to the Bolivian elections in 2019.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino. Editing by Rodrigo Charme)
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