The Big Stories in LATAM
Peruvian elections goes to recounts, Bolivia authorizes military force against protesters, and Colombian election board rules out fraud
Peruvian elections go to a recount
The final round of Peruvian elections is almost certain to go to a recount that could last days or even weeks. After the initial “fast-count” showed leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez with a narrow lead over his right-wing opponent, Keiko Fujimori.
The official “slow-count,” as of 5:42 a.m. Peruvian time, showed Fujimori with a less than 1-point lead, with 90% of the vote counted (50.3% for Fujimori, 49.8% for Sánchez).
Keiko Fujimori is the daughter of controversial strongman President Alberto Fujimori, who was jailed for crimes against humanity. She has run on a platform of security crackdowns on organized crime and extortion, as well as
Early voting data showed Fujimori dominating the capital, Lima, carrying the urban vote and the coast, while Sánchez swept the rural vote and the mountainous Andes.
Following the completion of the fast-count, Sánchez told supporters Sunday afternoon that he maintained an “important lead that reaffirms the will of the people, who want democracy and justice.”
Fujimori described the initial results as a “technical tie.” She did not claim victory, instead telling supporters, “Every single tally sheet must be counted.”
Bolivia passes law allowing use of military against protesters
Bolivia’s legislature has passed a law granting President Rodrigo Paz the authority to use the military to clear roadblocks set up by antigovernment protesters.
Protests, which have now stretched into their second month, have erected 100’s of roadblocks, which authorities claim is causing food and fuel shortages in the interior of the country.
The law also grants broad powers to military forces, and “presumed legality” for their actions, including utilizing violence against protesters.
The US has expressed strong support for Bolivian protesters, falsely accusing them of links to narco-traffickers in the country.
Election board rules out any possibility of fraud in first round of Colombian elections
Colombia’s top electoral authority, the National Electoral Council (CNE), confirmed the outcome of the presidential election’s first round after finding no evidence of the fraud alleged by outgoing President Gustavo Petro.
In a ruling that followed the scrutiny of votes, the CNE confirmed that far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda were elected to the second round of the election.
The scrutiny, which corrects wrongly counted tally sheets, found no evidence of mass fraud that could have changed the outcome.
President Petro Gustavo has accused the electoral board of fraud via voiding the registration of thousands of voters. Leftist presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda initially supported the claims, but quickly abandoned them after a cursory examination by his election campaign.
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