Leftist Castillo leads in Peruvian presidential ballot

BOGOTA, Colombia

Peru is heading to a June runoff presidential election to decide who will take over the South American country plunged in a deep social, economic and political crisis.

With 31% of the votes counted, far-left candidate Pedro Castillo is leading among 18 candidates, taking 15.9% of the vote, followed by conservative Hernando de Soto with 14%, according to preliminary results published by the country's electoral body.

None of the candidates managed to get close to the threshold required for an outright victory.

Castillo, a union leader and primary school teacher known for leading a Peruvian teachers' strike in 2017, could face De Soto, a 79-year-old economist, who advocates for state non-intervention in the economy and has indicated he would allow the country's COVID-19 vaccination campaign to be run solely by the private sector.

"Today, the Peruvian people have just taken the blindfold off their eyes," said Castillo.

In third place is ultra-conservative businessman Rafael Lopez Aliaga with 13% and conservative Keiko Fujimori, daughter and political heir of former president Alberto Fujimori, is in fourth place with 12.4% of votes.

A fast count by pollster Ipsos predicted a runoff between Castillo and Fujimori.

Despite fears of infection by the novel coronavirus, many people turned out to vote on Sunday to avoid the fine of 88 soles ($25) for not exercising the right.

The nation is battling a surge in infections brought on by new coronavirus variants. It has recorded more than 1.6 million cases and nearly 55,000 deaths.

Although neighboring Chile has delayed a constituent assembly vote due to the pandemic, Peru decided to go ahead with election day as the country has grappled with severe economic contractions and political turmoil.

Peru's current president, Francisco Sagasti, took office in November after a political crisis saw the country go through three presidents in a week.