Peru election drags into second day after ballot delivery fiasco

The results of the general election in Peru have been delayed after tens of thousands of people were unable to vote due to technical and logistical problems at a number of polling stations. The electoral authorities have granted a one-day extension to more than 50,000 voters who could not cast their ballots on Sunday. A preliminary count of half the votes that were cast put conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori slightly ahead of the right-wing former mayor of the capital, Lima, Rafael López Aliaga - but the battle for second place is still very close-run. All candidates are far short of the 50% of votes needed to win outright, making a run-off between the top two candidates on 7 June almost certain. Voters who experienced problems in Lima and at polling stations abroad - such as in Orlando, Florida and Paterson, New Jersey - will be able to cast their ballots on Monday, the electoral authorities ruled. Scores of polling stations opened late or, in some cases, not at all. Peru's current President José María Balcázar said that the company hired to deliver the voting material had failed to do so in time. Voting is mandatory for Peruvians aged between 18 and 70, and those failing to ca