LIMA — Peru’s presidential election results were pushed back at least until Monday after logistical problems left thousands unable to vote on Sunday.
Electoral authorities authorized more than 52,000 Lima residents to cast ballots on Monday. The post-election extension, announced after counting began Sunday evening, also applies to Peruvians registered in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey. Officials initially said 63,300 people would be allowed to vote Monday but later revised that number downward.
Voting is compulsory for Peruvians aged 18 to 70, and failure to vote can bring a fine of up to $32.
A crowded field of 35 presidential candidates includes a former cabinet minister, a comedian and a political heir. The vote comes amid a sharp rise in violent crime and persistent corruption that have driven public discontent. Many frontrunners have proposed hardline policies on crime, such as building megaprisons, limiting inmates’ food, and reinstating the death penalty for the most serious offenses.
Waiting in line outside a Lima public school, 33-year-old nurse Heidy Justiniano said she had not settled on a candidate and stressed that safety is the top concern for voters tired of robberies and killings. She urged choosing a leader who can actually improve security and keep promises.
More than 27 million Peruvians are registered to vote, including roughly 1.2 million who vote abroad, primarily in the United States and Argentina. A presidential hopeful needs more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright; given the fragmented field, a June runoff is widely expected.
Voters are also electing members of a newly reestablished bicameral Congress for the first time in more than 30 years after recent reforms that grant significant power to the new upper chamber.