Peru's presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori claims fraud in runoff election

Peru's presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori on Wednesday claimed fraud after election authorities on Tuesday said that leftist Pedro Castillo won 50.12 per cent of the ballots, against 49.87 per cent for her.

Fujimori's rival Castillo finished narrowly ahead of her with all votes counted from the June 6 runoff election, reported NHK World.

Castillo was ahead by a quarter of a percentage point, or about 44,000 votes. Fujimori is claiming fraud by the Castillo camp and is demanding that the election council nullify some votes, reported NHK World.

Castillo is an elementary school teacher who also works for a teachers' union. He gained support from the poor and rural residents by calling for state control of the energy sector and the drafting of a new constitution.

Fujimori is the eldest daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori. Her pledge to protect democracy and a free economy has won backing mainly from business people and the wealthy.

( With inputs from ANI )