Pedro Castillo Claims Victory Before Official Announcement in Peru Presidential Election; Keiko Fujimori to Challenge Vote Results

With no official result yet, the socialist candidate Peru's Presidential Race, Pedro Castillo has claimed victory after hanging on a slim lead against his right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori as the protracted vote count ended.

Peru Presidential Elections 2021

Despite the claim of Castillo and the end of the vote count, Keiko Fujimori has not conceded yet. Fujimori, daughter of former Peruvian President Aberto Fujimori, has pledged to challenge the result of the presidential race.

According to The Guardian, Pedro Castillo ended the count with 44,058 more votes than Keiko Fujimori. But Fujimori refused to give up and has made allegations of fraud against Castillo. However, Fujimori struggled in looking for proof that Castillo committed election fraud but she still tried to get some votes annulled.

The vote count was held on June 6, but since then, there has been no formal announcement yet made by the electoral authorities. But Castillo refused to wait for the formal announcement and claimed the win on social media.

In his post on social media, Castillo posted a picture of himself with arms raised, with a caption that a new time has started. He also included his campaign slogan 'No more poor in a rich country' in the photo with the word 'President' in large font. Castillo also updated the photo in his profile and included "President-elect of the Republic of Peru (2021-2026)."

Pedro Castillo vs. Keiko Fujimori

The sudden rise of the 51-year-old union leader and the former teacher Pedro Castillo has rattled the political and business elite of Peru. The leap made by Castillo prompted concerns from the elites as Castillo's decisions and perspective could have a major impact on the vital mining industry of the country, Reuters reported.

Peru is the second-biggest copper producer in the world, but with Castillo planning to set tax hikes on the sector, businessmen consider it as a major problem.

On the other hand, Fujimori did not immediately make a public comment regarding the vote on Tuesday. But on Monday, the right-wing candidate repeated the fraud allegations allegedly committed by Castillo. Fujimori stated that they were only asking for a clean vote and for all the irregularities to be checked and they are not going to give up.

But the Free Peru party of Castillo has rejected the accusations of fraud made by the camp of Fujimori. International observers situated in Lima opposed the allegations and stated that the elections were transparent.

Furthermore, Castillo had vowed earlier in the day that he would not permit any move by his rival in overturning the election to deny the will of the people. The election issue prompted rivals' supporters to take to the streets recently.

Based on the latest numbers, the son of peasant farmers, Castillo had 50.125% of the votes while the eldest daughter of imprisoned former president Alberto Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori had 49.875%, DW reported.

Despite claiming the victory, Castillo told reporters present at the Lima headquarters of his party that he would respect electoral authorities. But they urged them to end the uncertainty by confirming the result as soon as possible.

WATCH: Peru leftist Castillo claims election win as Fujimori fights result -from
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