With All Votes in, Kuczynski Celebrates Win in Peru Election

[Eugene]

Last edited Thu Jun 9, 2016, 06:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Associated Press

With All Votes in, Kuczynski Celebrates Win in Peru Election

By JOSHUA GOODMAN AND FRANKLIN BRICENO, ASSOCIATED PRESS LIMA, Peru — Jun 9, 2016, 6:19 PM ET

Former World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won the majority of votes in Peru's closest presidential contest in five decades, election officials announced Thursday, even as his rival Keiko Fujimori had yet to concede defeat.

Four days after voting, electoral officials said that all ballots had been processed and Kuczynski had won 50.1 percent compared to 49.9 percent for the daughter of imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Supporters immediately celebrated outside Kuczynski's campaign headquarters while the apparent president-elect made a plea for dialogue with his opponent and other rival political forces.

"We receive this virtual verdict with great humility because Peru has huge challenges ahead of it," he told supporters. "We shouldn't confuse dialogue with weakness. We're going to be decisive but we're going to work on behalf of all Peru because many Peruvians feel the train has left them behind and we want everyone to get on board."

Despite the celebratory atmosphere, Fujimori's campaign seemed in no rush to recognize defeat.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/perus-presidential-election-wait-enters-4th-day-39715609

EDIT: Article updated at link.

[chapdrum]

1. As in the U.S.,

the Peruvians also get the choice of Tweedle-Dum vs. Tweedle-Dee (in their case, the neoliberal vs. the Fascist).

Better that PPK won, but she has a majority in Congress, so he'll have a real battle.