Far-left Schoolteacher Takes Lead As Peru Counts Presidential Votes
By Luis Jaime CISNEROS and Francisco JARA
04/12/21 AT 7:15 PM
A far-left union leader and teacher has taken a surprise, though slim, lead in Peru's presidential election, and will likely face a rightwing rival in a runoff in June, incomplete results showed Monday.
With nearly 90 percent of ballots counted by Monday evening, leftist Pedro Castillo was in the lead with 18.83 percent -- much higher than predicted by opinion polls which had not even placed him in the top five.
He will likely square off on June 6 against corruption-accused Keiko Fujimori, a rightwing populist who has 13.21 percent, according to results released by the ONPE electoral office. It will be Fujimori's third shot at the top job.