Both have vowed to unite the country after the violent period of rule by Fujimori’s father Alberto in the 1990s.
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Former World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski held on to a tiny lead as returns from the presidential runoff in Peru came in Monday, Reuters reported.
Mr Kuczynski addressed cheering supporters waving red and white Peruvian flags from the balcony of his campaign headquarters, urging them to be vigilant against fraud at the ballot box, but otherwise sounding as if he had already been declared the victor. “No more low blows or fights”, he said.
“Ole, ole, PPK!” yelled the crowd. Instead of rebels, Keiko Fujimori is promising to wield an iron fist against crime, a top voter concern. “However, we are going to wait prudently because throughout the night the votes will be arriving from the regions, from overseas, and the rural vote of deep Peru”. “This is why we are optimistic”.
“We have seen the vitality of Peruvian democracy and that fills me with pride”.
Fujimori, who served as first lady in her father’s administration after her parents’ divorce, has tried to contain her rival’s rise by taking distance from her father’s crimes, even signing a pledge not to pardon him if elected. But others say they would never support anyone associated with her father.
A sample review of ballots by Ipsos polling company gave Kuczynski a 1 percentage point lead over Fujimori. A conflict with the leftist Shining Path group between 1980 and 2000 left an estimated 70,000 people in the country.
While both candidates are fiscal conservatives who would maintain a free-market model in the resource-rich Andean economy, their styles and approaches differ widely.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, was born in Peru and is the son of Jewish refugees.
“She is the only one who has signed a commitment to oppose gay marriages”. His American wife is a cousin of Hollywood actress Jessica Lange.
“He has a lot of experience”, said pro-Kuczynski voter Enrique Castillo, who runs a business exporting clothes.
Its strong growth has slowed under outgoing leftist President Ollanta Humala. Fujimori Sr. fled the country after his second term amid accusations of human rights violations and corruption. In the campaign ahead of the first-round vote, sentiment against the Fujimoris crested shortly before the election and began to recede before the polls opened. Although accusations against Mr Ramírez, who denies all wrongdoing, are nothing new-Peruvian prosecutors have been investigating him for two years-the memory of corruption during Alberto Fujimori’s government made the claims particularly damaging to his daughter. The results of the election could be announced by Friday, he said.
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ONPE chief Mariano Cucho said at a press conference that 100 percent of the ballots had been counted in eight of Peru’s 25 regions and he called on the public “to await with calm and good judgment” further announcements as the vote count progresses.
