Voters in Peru went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president and members of Congress. The vote came amid a spike in violent crime and high-profile corruption, with no clear favorite among a discontented electorate.
Keiko Fujimori, a conservative former congresswoman and daughter of the late president Alberto Fujimori, held a narrow lead but fell well short of the more than 50% needed to win outright, making a June runoff likely. She looked set to face fellow conservative Rafael “Porky” López Aliaga.
The ballot listed 35 candidates, reflecting public frustration after nine presidents in the past decade. Fujimori has vowed to crack down on crime but has defended laws that critics say hinder prosecutions; this was her fourth presidential bid.
Aliaga, a former mayor of Lima, has proposed building prisons in the Amazon, allowing judges to conceal their identities to protect them from criminal gangs, and expelling foreigners living in the country illegally. Popular comedian Carlos Álvarez is also running on a tough anti-crime platform.
The vote took place amid high levels of organized crime and political instability.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez