LIMA, Peru (AP) — Presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez said Tuesday that he’ll refuse to recognize results of Peru’s June 7 presidential runoff if officials count ballots cast by Peruvians overseas that he alleges were processed improperly.With 99.72% of votes counted, Sánchez trails conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori by just 40,000 votes and is expected to lose the election, once authorities finish processing tally sheets. More than 18 million Peruvians participated in the runoff.Sánchez, a former commerce minister who is popular in rural areas and among Peru’s Indigenous population, would win the election if votes cast by Peruvians living abroad are discarded, according to data published by election authorities.Sánchez’s campaign has filed a petition to reject overseas ballots, arguing that Peruvian consulates abroad did not use a government-provided app to scan tally sheets as required by law.
Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that, in late May, it had obtained authorization from electoral officials to conduct voting at consulates without scanning tally sheets, but by sending them directly to the capital, Lima, to be processed after voting ended.
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