Roberto Sánchez, the left-wing candidate for the Juntos por el Perú party, has requested the annulment of votes cast by Peruvians living abroad [1].
The request comes amid a razor-thin margin in the presidential runoff, where the outcome could shift based on the validity of overseas ballots. Because the gap between the two leading candidates is small, any significant change in the vote count could determine the next president of Peru.
Sánchez filed the request on Monday, June 22, 2024, with the Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE) [2]. The filing occurred shortly after the second round of voting concluded. He said there were administrative irregularities in the voting process for citizens residing outside the country [1].
According to current data with 99.70% of the tallies processed, Keiko Fujimori holds 50.111% of the vote compared to 49.889% for Sánchez [1]. This represents a difference of approximately 40,000 votes [3].
Sánchez said that the irregularities in the overseas process could affect nearly 300,000 votes [1]. He said that an annulment of these specific ballots could potentially alter the final result of the dispute against Fujimori [3].
The ONPE is now tasked with reviewing the administrative claims made by the Juntos por el Perú campaign. The candidate's legal team is focusing on the specific handling of ballots cast in foreign jurisdictions, a process that has historically been a point of contention in Peruvian elections [1].
“Roberto Sánchez has requested the annulment of votes cast by Peruvians living abroad.”
The challenge by Roberto Sánchez highlights the volatility of Peru's electoral process, where a small percentage of votes can decide the presidency. By targeting the overseas vote—a bloc of roughly 300,000 ballots—Sánchez is attempting to erase a 40,000-vote deficit. If the ONPE grants the annulment, the resulting shift in percentages could either trigger a new runoff or hand the victory to the left-wing candidate, depending on how the remaining totals are recalculated.
