Lima –

Polling station delays and early uncertainty over the runoff contenders marked Peru’s general election on Sunday, as voters chose a new president and Congress from a fragmented field of more than 30 candidates.

Early official results showed former congresswoman Keiko Fujimori narrowly in the lead with 17.17% closely followed by right-wing former ​Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga with 16.97%, with 37% of votes counted, according to Peru’s electoral body, ONPE. Exit polls had shown Fujimori, daughter of ex-President ‌Alberto Fujimori — who ‌was imprisoned for human rights abuses — in the lead, although Lopez Aliaga emerged in the lead earlier in the count, ​underlining the fluidity of the race.

Years of political turmoil in the Andean nation have eroded confidence in institutions and left voters deeply disillusioned. With no clear frontrunner and all major candidates polling well below the 50% needed to win outright, a June 7 runoff appeared likely — a scenario that could prolong uncertainty ⁠in the world’s third-largest copper producer at a time of rising crime and intensifying competition for influence between the United States and China.