Peru's electoral board calls for audit of election

Peru's National Jury of Elections (JNE) on Saturday requested a "comprehensive and exhaustive IT audit" of the results of the general elections held on April 12, it said in a statement. The final results of the first round of the elections remain unclear and the vote count is still incomplete with 97.5% of the ballots counted. No clear presidential rival has emerged to face conservative frontrunner Keiko Fujimori in a June run-off. The JNE called for the independent audit "as a concrete and decisive step to strengthen the transparency, integrity, and reliability of the election results," the statement said. Left-wing congressman Roberto Sanchez and ultra-conservative Rafael Lopez Aliaga remain deadlocked for second place, separated by roughly 28,000 votes, as disputed tally sheets from more than 1 million ballots are being reviewed in hopes of ascertaining the results. A spokesperson for the JNE told Reuters that a possible audit would not interrupt the review of the contested

ballots. Peru's April election and the subsequent vote count have sparked widespread confusion in the Andean nation, with several candidates alleging fraud. On April 21, the head of Peru's electoral authority, Piero Corvetto, resigned over mounting pressure for clarity. Corvetto had previously acknowledged logistical delays to the electoral process, but denied that any irregularities took place. European Union election observers said in April that they found no evidence of fraud. Final results are expected no later than May 15, JNE officials said in April.