2016 Peruvian Presidential Elections: Kuczynski Second-Round Winner?

Summary: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peruanos por el Kambio barely leads over Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular in second-round 2016 Peruvian presidential elections.

View of courtyard of Peru's presidential palace: The winner of Peru's June 5, 2016, presidential election will reside in the presidential palace, which is located within the complex of Peru's Government Palace (Palacio de Gobierno del Perú): Dozenist, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Peruvians still await the official results of the second-round 2016 Peruvian Presidential elections of June 5, 2016, since Pedro Pablo Kuczynski holds a tentatively narrow lead, by 0.56 percent, over Keiko Fujimori.

The Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE), the National Office of Electoral Processes, based the tentative call upon a count of 92.61 percent of the vote. The reports came at 8:30 a.m. Peru Time (13:30 Coordinated Universal Time), from Mariano Cucho Espinoza, ONPE national chief, with updates at 15:58 PET (20:58 UCT).

Dr. Cucho does not expect his office to take any longer than June 10, 2016, or June 12, 2016, to process and tally the remaining ballots. He explains the delay as the slowed access to ballots from the interior “por medidas de seguridad” ("for security measures") and from eligible voters living abroad.

The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI), the semi-autonomous National Institute of Statistics and Informatics governmental agency, furnished June 30, 2015, population totals of 31,151,643.

ONPE gives 17,418,327 of 21,260,827 eligible voters as participating in Sunday’s second-round 2016 Peruvian presidential elections, for absenteeism and turnout rates at 18.073 and 81.927 percent. It has 71,595 electoral precincts already counted and validated, by 15:58 PET (20:58 UCT), from 72,820 precincts processed out of a national total of 77,307 precincts. Of the 94.196 percent of precincts already processed, the Junta Especial de Elecciones (JEE), Special Elections Board, is scrutinizing returns from 1,225 precincts, or 1.585 percent. The 92.611 percent of precincts whose returns passed scrutiny jumped Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peruanos por el Kambio (Peruvians for Change) into first with 8,218,846 votes.

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peruanos por el Kambio (Peruvians for Change): PedroPablo Kuczynski @ppkamigo via Twitter June 4, 2016

A total of 8,127,942 votes, or 49.722 percent to ex-Prime Minister Kuczynski’s 50.278 percent, keeps Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular (Popular Force) behind by 90,904 votes. ONPE lists 4,487 as the number of precincts, or 5.804 percent of the total in the second-round 2016 Peruvian presidential elections, that await processing and validating. Gilbert Vallejos Agreda, general manager, mentions that consulate personnel will deliver to ONPE Monday at 17:00 PET (22:00 UCT) most of the ballots from nonresident Peruvians. ONPE needs all Tuesday morning to process ballots from as many as 884,924 Peruvians who, unlike eligible voters living in Peru, are not required to vote. Vallejos observes that nonresident tallies will be released Tuesday and that “No sabemos si la diferencia se mantiene” ("We don’t know if the difference [will] hold").

Congressional elections concurrent with the first-round 2016 Peruvian presidential elections put a majority in the hands of Fuerza Popular, with 71 of 130 seats until 2021. His party holding just 20 seats qualifies consensus-building as a priority if ex-Prime Minister Kuczynski officially becomes the Republic of Peru’s 95th President July 28, 2016. Presidential candidate Kuczynski resists victory speeches since “No hemos ganado todavía. Hay que esperar los resultados oficiales” ("We haven’t won yet. We must await official results"). Candidate Fujimori says that “Estamos contentos, optimistas, rumbo a la victoria” ("We’re content, optimistic, on the way to victory") despite “un empate técnico” ("a technical tie").

Ultimate outcomes take ironic overtones since ex-Prime Minister Kuczynski supported a Fujimori candidacy in 2011 and ONPE survives as a creation from his opponent’s father’s presidency.

Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular (Popular Force): Keiko Fujimori @KeikoFujimori via Twitter June 5, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

courtyard of Peru's presidential palace, Lima: Dozenist, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Presidential_Palace_in_Peru_01.jpg

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peruanos por el Kambio (Peruvians for Change): PedroPablo Kuczynski‏ @ppkamigo via Twitter June 4, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/ppkamigo/status/739183222697959428

Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular (Popular Force): Keiko Fujimori @KeikoFujimori via Twitter June 5, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/KeikoFujimori/status/739634670774542337

For further information:

“Congress of the Republic.” Election Guide > Elections > Elections in Peru > April 10, 2016.
Available @ http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2679/

Keiko Fujimori @KeikoFujimori. June 5, 2016. "¡Estamos optimistas y le damos gracias al Perú por su apoyo!" Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/KeikoFujimori/status/739634670774542337

Keiko Fujimori @KeikoFujimori. June 5, 2016. "Hoy es un día de gran fiesta democrática, vayamos todos a votar. Votemos sin miedo, votemos por el Perú." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/KeikoFujimori/status/739432125871620097

“Keiko Fujimori: ‘Las cifras muestran que hay un empate técnico’ [Fotos y video].” Perú 21: Política > Agradeció a quienes votaron por ella y a sus colaboradores > Domingo 05 de junio del 2016 / 20:38.
Available @ http://peru21.pe/politica/elecciones-2016-asi-reaccionaron-seguidores-ppk-difundirse-flash-fotos-2248562

Marriner, Derdriu. "Peruvian Presidential Candidate Keiko Fujimori May Win in April 2016." Earth and Space News. April 7, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/04/peruvian-presidential-candidate-keiko.html

“ONPE: “No sabemos si la diferencia se mantiene, lo que hacemos es contar votos.” AméricaTV > Noticias > Actualidad > Voto 2016 > 23:20 pm.
Available @ http://www.americatv.com.pe/noticias/actualidad/onpe-no-sabemos-si-diferencia-se-mantiene-lo-que-hacemos-contar-votos-n234026

PedroPablo Kuczynski‏ @ppkamigo. 4 June 2016. "Que mañana sea una fiesta por nuestra democracia y una victoria para el Perú. ¡Un fuerte abrazo!" Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ppkamigo/status/739183222697959428

“Población total al 30 de junio de cada año, según departamento.” INEI > Estadísticas > Índice Temático > Población y Vivienda > Población > Estimaciones y Proyecciones de Población.
Available @ https://www.inei.gob.pe/estadisticas/indice-tematico/poblacion-y-vivienda/

“PPK: ‘Tenemos que ser vigilantes para que no nos roben los votos en las mesas’ [Fotos y video].” Perú 21 > Política > Domingo 05 de junio del 2016 / 19:52.
Available @ http://peru21.pe/politica/elecciones-2016-asi-reaccionaron-seguidores-ppk-difundirse-flash-fotos-2248562

“Segunda Elección Presidencial 2016: Resultados Presidenciales.” ONPE > Presentación de Resultados > Resúmen General > Presidencial.
Available @ https://resultadoselecciones2016.onpe.gob.pe/PRP2V2016/Resumen-GeneralPresidencial.html#posicion