Piero Corvetto, the president of Peru's national electoral body, announced his resignation on Tuesday as scrutiny intensified over the protracted official count from the April 12 general election. Corvetto posted his resignation on X, and had previously acknowledged that logistical problems had slowed the process while rejecting allegations of irregularities.
The slow pace of the official tally has generated accusations of fraud from multiple candidates and prompted calls from business leaders and lawmakers for Corvetto to be replaced. European Union election observers reported last week that they found no evidence of fraudulent activity.
On Monday, authorities with responsibility for the vote began a formal review of thousands of ballots that had been challenged. Election officials said those ballots were contested because of inconsistencies, missing information or errors on tally sheets. The review of those challenged ballots has extended the delay in producing the final results and has left uncertainty about who will advance to the June presidential runoff to face conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori.
Peru's top electoral body, the National Jury of Elections (JNE), has stated that the definitive presidential result will be known no later than May 15. Despite those assurances, the official count has shown little movement since Friday. With nearly 94% of ballots tallied by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Fujimori was reported to hold around 17% of the vote.
The contest for second place remained tightly contested. Left-wing congressman Roberto Sanchez and ultra-conservative Rafael Lopez Aliaga were listed with 12.0% and 11.9% of the vote respectively, a margin of approximately 14,000 votes that continued to fluctuate as the count progressed.
Corvetto's resignation and the ongoing ballot review underscore the procedural and logistical challenges facing Peru's electoral institutions in the wake of the April 12 vote. While international observers have not identified fraudulent conduct, domestic accusations and the close margin between Sanchez and Lopez Aliaga have intensified scrutiny on the pace and transparency of the official count.
The unfolding developments leave the country awaiting confirmation of the two presidential contenders who will advance to the June runoff, even as electoral authorities work toward meeting the JNE deadline for a final result.