Peru Heads to Runoff Election After Presidential Vote Split

Peru is heading to a presidential runoff in June after early results showed a fragmented and politically divided nation with no candidate getting anywhere close to the threshold needed to win outright.

As voting stations closed Sunday, Pedro Castillo, a community organizer and union leader who appeared sixth on the polls just a week ago, was leading the race with 18.1% of the votes, according to a closely-watched quick count by the Ipsos polling firm.

He was followed by Keiko Fujimori, an ex-legislator, with 14.4% and conservative businessman Rafael Lopez Aliaga with 12.4%. Hernando de Soto, an economist, was in fourth place with 10.8% of the vote, according to the unofficial quick count…

“The bizarre spectacle of a president who was quite popular being forced out in what amounted to a rebellion in congress - for Wall Street and the international community it raises the question: Can anyone successfully govern Peru?” said Brian Winter, the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, before the vote…

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