Peru

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The daughter of an imprisoned former president was leading the race for Peru’s presidency late Sunday, hours after polls closed in a runoff election held as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the Andean country.

With 42% of votes tallied, conservative Keiko Fujimori had 52.9% of the vote, while rural teacher-turned-political novice Pedro Castillo had 47%, according to official results. This is Fujimori’s third run for president, a role her father held in the 1990s.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian voters will choose between two polarizing populist candidates Sunday in a presidential runoff held as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the Andean country and festering anger has led to fears of more political stability.

LIMA, May 15 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — An overwhelming majority of Peru’s Parliament voted in plenum against a motion seeking to oust President Francisco Sagasti.

The motion had been submitted by Congressman César Gonzales. It was supported by 12 votes and rejected by 86 legislators, while another 19 abstained.

The nays considered it highly inopportune as the country is heading for a presidential runoff in less than a month between Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori and Sagasti is to hand over the presidency to whoever wins on June 6.

LIMA, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru President Francisco Sagasti announced a fresh deal with Pfizer Inc and BioNTech to purchase an additional 12 million doses of their vaccine against COVID-19 as a fierce second wave of the virus ravages the country.

The president said on social media the additional shots would be delivered by year’s end.

Peru’s vaccination drive has been slow to get started and fraught with allegations of corruption, with just under 4 per cent of the population inoculated with at least one dose to date.

LIMA, April 26 (NNN-TELESUR) — Thousands of Peruvians have set up a temporary camp on the outskirts of Lima after losing their homes due to the economic crisis generated by COVID-19.

Government officials have unsuccessfully tried to persuade occupants to leave. They refuse, not having anywhere else to go, their leaders say.

The temporary settlement is located a few meters from the Pacific coast in Villa el Salvador and already has over 9,000 dwellers.

LIMA, April 14 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Ultra-leftist candidate Pedro Castillo of the Peru Libre party and perennial conservative contender Keiko Fujimori looked poised to advance to the runoff after Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) had counted 93.479% of the votes.

Although these results are still preliminary, Castillo was visibly ahead with 19.056% of the votes, followed by Keiko Fujimori from Fuerza Popular with 13.326%.

LIMA (Reuters) -Peruvian far-left candidate Pedro Castillo is set to win the Andean country’s first-round presidential election, though he will face a run-off vote in June with an electorate fragmented after a year of political and economic crisis.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A surging coronavirus pandemic that has brought on new lockdown measures and exacerbated fatigue in Ecuador and Peru has left many voters generally indifferent to the names they will see on the ballots Sunday, when the neighboring South American nations are set to choose new presidents.

No candidate in each nation has garnered enough support to be a clear favorite, and after a year of collective suffering and corruption scandals, voters seem to be hoping for a winner who can pull them out of the pandemic’s economic mess with the least stumbles possible.

LIMA, March 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Despite facing a potential 30-year prison sentence for corruption, Keiko Fujimori is determined to follow in her father’s footsteps and claim Peru’s presidency at the third attempt.

The 45-year-old, who failed already in 2011 and 2016, says she wants to “save Peruvians from death and hunger” if successful this time around in the April 11 general election.

LIMA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Peru's anti-corruption prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez said Thursday he requested a minimum 30-year prison sentence for presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, leader of the Popular Force (FP) party who stands accused of accepting illicit campaign funds in the past.

Another 41 members of the conservative FP have been accused as part of an investigation into alleged illegal contributions to Fujimori's failed past presidential campaigns.

Perez has also accused them of obstructing justice and making false statements during judicial proceedings.