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Peruvians all across the country cast their ballots in the second round of presidential polls to elect the next head of state.
A total of 25,287,954 Peruvians on Sunday voted in more than 12,000 polling centres, which will decide whether Keiko Fujimori or Pedro Castillo will accede to the presidency for the period of 2021 to 2026, reports Xinhua news agency. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) had established a series of biosafety measures at voting stations. For this election, thousands of police and members of the armed forces were deployed to monitor voting stations and keep the peace. President Francisco Sagasti urged citizens to "consolidate democracy" by voting in the elections. "It is important to cast your vote to consolidate democracy and for us to have as many voters as possible," he said after voting in Lima. The president of the National Elections Jury (JNE), Jorge Salas Arenas, said that 8,248 political representatives, 8,085 police officers, 7,518 members of the armed forces and 150 international observers were installed at voting centres across the country. He said that so far, no acts of violence have been recorded. Fujimori and Castillo won the first round on April 11 over a crowded field of candidates. Castillo garnered 19.09 per cent of the votes, and Fujimori became the runner-up with 13.36 per cent of the ballots. Castillo, a teachers' union leader, and Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, represent two very different national plans and models of government. --IANS ksk/ ( 265 Words) 2021-06-07-11:32:04 (IANS)
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