Political situation in Peru

Presidential candidate wants vote recount in Peru

The votes from Sunday's presidential election have not been fully counted, but despite that, presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez is already demanding a recount, writes AFP.

His rival, the conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori, is believed to be leading by a few hundred votes and the margin between victory and defeat is therefore minimal.

With just over one percent of the votes left to be counted, the lead in Fujimori's favor is measured at a few thousandths of a percent.

-I propose that we together do a thorough review, a recount of the entire process, especially in those places where there have been discussions about shortcomings, Sanchez said at a press conference on Friday.

Fujimori receives 50.002 percent of the support - Sanchez 49.998

The Peruvian presidential election continues to be extremely close. Conservative Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, has regained the lead with over 98 percent of the votes counted.

She currently has 50.002 percent of the vote and her competitor, leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez, has 49.998 percent. In total, only around 650 of the 18 million votes counted separate the candidates.

Both Fujimori and Sanchez have urged the public to be patient during the vote count. On Wednesday, however, Sanchez tightened his tone somewhat and opened up the possibility that international observers may need to be involved.