Lima .- Left-wing presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez rejected on Tuesday the accusation that he is preparing a “forazo” (electoral fraud) in the general elections of Peru, and, instead, asked for respect for the popular vote of “deep Peru” which, according to his calculations, places him in a second round with right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.
The candidate of Juntos por el Perú responded to the statements of the far-right candidate Rafael López Aliaga, who denounced to the press that Sánchez was preparing a «anforazo» (electoral fraud) and that his candidacy had allegedly suffered the theft of a million votes, after learning that the leftist candidate could snatch away the possibility of going to a second presidential round.
«We reject these absolutely irresponsible words», said Sánchez, former minister of the deposed and sentenced former president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) and who proposes his release as the first measure of a possible government.
Roberto Sánchez’s Alert
The candidate added that as he represents a popular movement, they attribute a supposed fraud to him and warn with “fear” and “dread”.
In that sense, Sánchez demanded respect for the popular vote and pointed out that if any Peruvian “believes that there is any evidence of malicious action, show that evidence.”
El candidato a la presidencia de Perú del partido Juntos por el Perú, Roberto Sánchez (c), habla durante una rueda de prensa este martes, en Lima (Perú). EFE/ Fernando Gimeno
He affirmed that his voters are in the south of the country, in the rural area, the Amazon and the central Andes, where some of the least favored social strata are concentrated.
For this reason, Sánchez stated that they are “calm and serene” because they trust their projection of 12.8% of valid votes, based on their own count of voting records, which practically puts them in the second round of the presidential election, along with Fujimori.
“Be vigilant to our call”
Sánchez insisted: “we have blind faith in the data we have”, but that “if you are beaten democratically, you have to accept it”.
«We call upon all of Peru, the social forces, we will be attentive, be vigilant to our call because as soon as we have an indication of wanting to attack the vote, we will call for the defense (of the suffrage)», he stated.
El candidato a la presidencia de Perú del partido Juntos por el Perú, Roberto Sánchez (c), habla durante una rueda de prensa este martes, en Lima (Perú). EFE/ Fernando Gimeno
Likewise, Sánchez greeted the other political forces that have shown respect for the popular vote and recalled that electoral observers have reiterated that “there is no evidence of a will to fraud” in the elections of April 12. “The vote of deep Peru will be respected”, remarked the presidential candidate.
According to the latest official count of the elections in Peru at 79.8% of the ballots, Keiko Fujimori leads the vote with 16.8%, followed by Rafael López Aliaga with 12.5%, centrist candidate Jorge Nieto with 11.6% and leftist Roberto Sánchez with 10.7%.
