Roberto Sanchez and conservative rival Keiko Fujimori are leading the vote count in the final stretch of Peru's first-round presidential election. With 99.76% of ballots tallied, electoral authorities indicate that the leftist Sanchez has enough votes to advance to a presidential runoff against Fujimori. The final result of the vote count will be announced by May 15.
However, a Peruvian prosecutor from the Public Ministry has accused Sanchez of financial crimes and election irregularities. The accusations involve alleged false statements in administrative proceedings and the falsification of information regarding campaign contributions, based on financial reports submitted by his party in 2020 and 2021.
The prosecutor has called for Sanchez to be imprisoned for five years and four months if convicted and has requested he be disqualified as a candidate. Sanchez's lawyer rejected the accusation, asserting that the party's treasurer was responsible for the financial reports. A judge will decide on May 27 whether Sanchez will go on trial.