Hundreds of protesters rallied outside Peru's National Jury of Elections headquarters in Lima on Wednesday, demanding the annulment of the April 12 presidential election and a complete rerun. Supporters of right-wing candidate Rafael López Aliaga led the demonstration, chanting against alleged fraud and calling for the resignation of National Electoral Processes Office (ONPE) head Piero Corvetto.

The protests stemmed from widespread logistical failures on election day, when a contractor failed to deliver ballots and materials to polling stations, particularly in Lima districts like San Juan de Miraflores and Lurín. This affected over 52,000 voters, prompting authorities to extend voting into Monday, April 13, for those unable to cast ballots. Similar issues hit overseas polling sites in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey.

Compounding frustration, the official vote count has progressed slowly, entering its fourth day on Wednesday with 82.91% of ballots processed. ONPE attributed the delays to the manual processing of electoral actas and a high volume of challenges, marking it as the slowest tally in recent history. Corvetto apologized for the initial disruptions but denied systemic irregularities.

Preliminary ONPE results show Keiko Fujimori of the conservative Popular Force party in first place with 16.87% of votes (2,411,193). A tight race for second features Rafael López Aliaga of Popular Renewal at 12.33% (1,762,380), Jorge Nieto of the Party of Good Government at 11.48% (1,641,378), Roberto Sánchez Palomino of Together for Peru at 11.12% (1,588,564), and Ricardo Belmont of Civic Party OBRAS at 10.10% (1,443,693). Some updates indicate Sánchez rising to challenge Fujimori in the June 7 runoff.

López Aliaga has alleged "brutal fraud" without providing evidence and issued a 24-hour ultimatum for vote cancellation. Sánchez has voiced similar concerns over process integrity. European Union observers reported no concrete fraud evidence but highlighted serious logistical problems.

The election drew a record 35 presidential candidates amid Peru's decade of instability, with nine presidents since 2016. Turnout reached 62.26%, with 17 million votes from 27.3 million registered voters, though exit polls suggested over 81% participation. Congress summoned ONPE and electoral officials on Tuesday for explanations.

No major violence marred Wednesday's protests, but tensions persist as the count nears completion. The top two will advance to the runoff, likely pitting Fujimori against one of the trailing contenders.