Presidential candidates Pedro Castillo, Hernando de Soto, Keiko Fujimori and Yonhy Lescano were the most voted in the Peruvian elections held in Peru this Sunday, according to an exit poll published as soon as polling stations closed, revealing a difference between them that does not exceed the margin of error.
The sample, carried out by the Ipsos company and published by Peruvian television’s América and Canal N channels, which will be the only one in the country tonight, has a margin of error of +/- 3%.
According to the data, Castillo, the far left and one of the surprises of the election campaign, would have received 16.1% of the vote, while Hernando de Soto and Keiko Fujimori, both on the right, would be matched with 11.9% of the vote. to vote. the votes, followed by Yonhy Lescano (center left), with 11%.
With this advance, Castillo’s pass, of the Peru Libre party, to the second round of elections in June is virtually certain and the rival he will face is yet to be determined, with official results in the coming hours.
From his native Cajamarca, Castillo called for “the peace and tranquility of the city” as his followers lit fireworks and began dancing in the streets to great excitement.
“I ask for calm, I ask my people for peace” because “it is true that there is a buzz of people, but we must be respectful of the official data,” he said in statements to América Noticias.
Castillo, a teacher and union leader, added that this “expression of the people” shows that Peruvians “feel identified with a person born of the same city.”
“If the results are confirmed, I would like to say a huge thank you to all teachers in Peru,” concluded the now favorite of the election.
In addition, the Ipsos exit survey found that 10.5% for far-right candidate Rafael López Aliaga, 8.8% for left-wing Verónika Mendoza, 6.4% for exporter George Forsyth and 5.8% for businessman César Acuña, among a total of 18 candidates for the presidency of Peru.
More than 25 million voters were called to vote in this general election to elect the president, two vice presidents and the new congress, but absenteeism was evident on the day due to Covid-19 contagion risk in a new peak of the disease.