The head of Peru's electoral jury admits "serious irregularities" in the elections

Lima .- The president of the National Elections Jury (JNE) of Peru, Roberto Burneo, admitted this Friday that «there were serious irregularities» during the organization of the general elections that were held last Sunday and Monday in the Andean country, which have led candidates like the far-right Rafael López Aliaga to denounce fraud without presenting conclusive evidence.

"It was a very serious situation," Burneo told journalists after appearing before the Congressional Oversight Committee to explain the reasons for the reported delays and lack of electoral material, especially in Lima, during the elections organized by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE). The head of Peru's top electoral body acknowledged that "never before, in any electoral process, had a delay of this nature occurred in the capital Lima, which concentrates a third of the national population," and emphasized that "at all times the ONPE assured that they would arrive at the respective time."

The complications in the Peru election process

Burneo said that, for that reason, the voting hours were extended and before the end of the process a "extraordinary measure regarding the extension of one more day" of the suffrage was taken in 13 schools in the south of Lima in which the vote was suspended due to lack of material.

He remarked that the intention was to "guarantee the right to vote of citizens" and added that this type of situation, which in the last few hours has also included reports of the discovery of ballots allegedly thrown in various areas of Lima, "cannot be overlooked".

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"All irregular situations, which are still very serious, are being addressed," he said before saying that they estimate there will be about 40,000 challenged records from the process, which included the vote for the Presidency, the Legislature and the Andean Parliament, about 5,000 of which will be from the suffrage for the head of State. Burneo reported that the Special Electoral Juries (JEE) of each jurisdiction "are already resolving many of them" and that the JNE will review requests for partial and total annulment of the elections, which currently amount to 85, as he detailed.

Incidents Since Election Day

After recalling that the JNE reported the incidents to all relevant authorities on the same day of the elections, he maintained that the investigations "will determine the responsibilities". «There are serious irregularities regarding the management and function of the entity in charge of organizing the process», he ratified in reference to the ONPE, whose chief, Piero Corvetto, was criminally denounced along with three other high-ranking officials last Monday by the JNE's prosecutor.

Despite the incidents in the process leading candidates like López Aliaga to claim that fraud has occurred without concrete evidence, Burneo called on the Peruvian population to "have confidence" in the JNE. "I want to ask for calm at this time not only to the citizens, but also to the political organizations (...) have confidence that we are going to continue working hard," he concluded. More than 27.3 million Peruvians were summoned on Sunday to elect their authorities for the 2026-2031 period, including the Presidency, which has seen eight presidents in the last ten years in a succession of political crises. So far, with 93.3% of the votes counted, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza Popular) has secured her presence in the second round to be held on June 7, whose rival will be defined in a very narrow margin between leftist Roberto Sánchez (Juntos por el Perú) and López Aliaga (Renovación Popular).