Sanchez warns he ‘will not recognise’ Fujimori victory in Peru election

Peruvian presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez has denounced his country’s recent run-off election as “fraudulent”, rejecting results that show his rival Keiko Fujimori marginally ahead. On Tuesday, Sanchez held a news conference calling for protests over the weekend. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list He also said he would not recognise a Fujimori presidency, accusing authorities of manipulating votes cast abroad to favour a right-wing government. “We will not recognise that government and will declare a state of political and social struggle — a movement of popular and patriotic resistance,” Sanchez wrote in a social media post after the event. Sanchez’s statements are the latest sign of turmoil in Peru’s fraught political system, which has seen nine presidents in power in the span of a decade. They are also a reflection of the razor-thin margins in the ongoing vote count. On June 7, the left-wing Sanchez faced the right-wing Fujimori in a run-off. With more than 99.7 percent of the votes counted as of Tuesday, Fujimori is in the lead, with 50.11 percent support. Sanchez, meanwhile, won 49.89 percent of the votes. Roughly 40,687 ballots separate the two candidates. Authorities have said they intend to complete the vote tally within 30 days of the election, in time to prepare for the inauguration of the next president on July 28, Peru’s independence day. But it appears likely that the swearing-in ceremony will be met with controversy. …