Peru's Sanchez says he will not recognize results of presidential runoff

Peru's leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez said on Tuesday he would not recognise the result of the country's presidential runoff, alleging fraud

as his conservative rival Keiko Fujimori held a narrow lead.



The declaration raises the prospect of a prolonged political crisis in Peru as the country awaits a final result in one of the closest presidential races in its history.



At a press conference, Sanchez said "fraud is underway" in a process he said was favouring Fujimori. Electoral authorities have been reviewing contested ballots from the June 7 runoff for weeks, with Fujimori leading 50.11% to 49.89%.



"We believe there's been a manipulation of the vote," Sanchez said, accusing Peru's ONPE electoral authority and Fujimori's campaign of irregularities in the votes cast abroad, which heavily favoured Fujimori.