Far-left Schoolteacher, Rightwing Populist Vie For Peru Presidency By Luis Jaime CISNEROS and Francisco JARA
04/13/21 AT 4:32 PM
Far-left labor unionist Pedro Castillo and rightwing populist Keiko Fujimori will square off in a second round of presidential elections that analysts say threatens to further polarize crisis-weary Peru.
With 96 percent of ballots counted by Tuesday, schoolteacher Castillo led with 19.09 percent while corruption-accused Fujimori daughter of jailed ex-president Alberto Fujimori, followed with 13.35 percent.
The pair beat out 16 other candidates in a fragmented first voting round Sunday, and will face each other again for the runoff on June 6.
In a country battered by the coronavirus epidemic, a steep economic downturn and years of political upheaval, no single candidate was able to fire up voters to obtain the 51 percent required for victory in the first round.