Lima, Peru- The official results have not yet been announced, but Pedro Castillo It seems that he will almost certainly become the next president of Peru.

However, the radical left-wing outsider will face an uphill struggle to unite the divided Andean nation. The most pressing question will be whether he eases his politics or adheres to Marxist policies in his Liberal Peru Party manifesto.

These proposals include allowing Peru’s huge mining sector to keep 70% of its profits in the country, nationalize the media, and spend 20% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education and healthcare-which is an increase from the country The tax revenue is still more.

All 18.8 million votes cast in the presidential runoff on June 6 are now counted. Castillo’s approval rating is 50.15%, giving him A thin lead Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of President Alberto Fujimori, who was sentenced to prison in the 1990s, only received more than 50,000 votes.

Although international observers provided a clean health bill for the election, she still complained about fraud. This week she hired some top lawyers in Lima to try to cancel 200,000 votes, mainly from poor rural areas in the Andes and Amazon regions. , Castillo won by an overwhelming advantage in these areas. In some cases, the support rate exceeds 80%.

But Fujimori’s efforts are unprecedented in the history of Peru’s elections and delayed the official announcement of the winner, but it seems to have failed.

The Peruvian National Electoral Tribunal (JNA, based on its Spanish acronym) ruled on Friday that most of her challenges were raised after the legal deadline. There are now less than 40,000 votes left, not enough to overturn the result.

Deep polarization

Despite this, the 46-year-old Fujimori faced trial and possible long-term imprisonment on suspicion of money laundering.

Many commentators have noticed how her legal team, which is composed mainly of white lawyers, is effectively trying to deprive indigenous and mixed voters of their rights.

“This is part of our political and legal culture, all this paperwork,” Arturo Mardonado, a political scientist at the Catholic University of Peru, told Al Jazeera. “This is a candidate who can’t afford to lose and is using these skills to win in court what she cannot do on the court.”

Fujimori refused to admit The 51-year-old Castillo, a provincial school teacher and union leader, may face increased challenges in establishing the legitimacy of his appointment.

These two extremely unpopular candidates only received 13% and 19% approval rates respectively. Crowded in the first round, And most Peruvians regard the runoff as a vote of candidates Seen as two evils, whichever is the lesser.

Because he has no experience in public office and often contradicts himself during the campaign, Castillo will face a split and right-leaning upcoming Congress, which is unlikely to sign his economic plan, especially any nationalization plan.

He will also face the risk of impeachment, regardless of reason.The outgoing Congress established this precedent in November last year when Remove The then president, Martín Vizcarra, stepped down on the grounds of corruption allegations that were not only unsubstantiated but had not yet been seriously investigated.

Maldonado said: “Castillo may just betray Congress and try to govern through a referendum.”

Anti-corruption efforts

Another key issue is how Castillo handles Peru’s anti-corruption struggle.

Two cases will serve as early touchstones. The first was Keiko Fujimori, in which the prosecutor demanded a 31-year prison sentence for the money laundering charges she denied, and the second was Vladimir Cerrón, a former regional governor and a Cuban-educated surgeon who founded Free Peru.

After being banned from running for president due to corruption convictions, Theron chose the little-known Castillo to replace his presidential candidacy. On Thursday, the court controversially overturned his conviction and four-year probation. The judge is now under investigation, and many Peruvians believe Theron, who will become the back-seat driver of the Castillo government, is facing six fraud investigations.

Theron often makes controversial comments, suggesting that he, not Castillo, led the campaign. However, the presidential candidate tried to downplay this, insisting in one instance that his mentor would not even be hired as a “gatekeeper” in his government.

Samuel Rotta, head of the Peru branch of Transparency International, said: “Castillo needs to do more to clearly distance himself from Theron.” “His presidency may depend on it. But his anti-corruption strategy may also depend on it.”

Hope “Enlightenment”

At the same time, emotions in Peru have been tense as the country is waiting for the final result.Expected to face legal challenges next week, delaying the start of the transition because Coronavirus pandemic Continue to sweep the country.

Supporters of Fujimori were picketed in the offices of the electoral agency ONPE and the homes of the heads of JNE and ONPE.Interim President Francisco Sagasti calls on both sides to avoid Declare victory Before the official results were announced, some lawmakers even suggested condemning his prejudice against Fujimori.

Anna Luisa Burga, 46, a historian from Castillo’s hometown of Cajamarca, now living in Lima, summarized the emotions of many Peruvians who reluctantly voted for Castillo, and now they It is hoped that this apparently untested newly elected president can become his candidate. Huge new responsibility.

“I didn’t vote for him in the first round, and I didn’t plan to vote for him in the second round. But then there was this wave of racism, class discrimination, and discrimination. I think this is very important. A president like Castillo,” she told Al Jazeera.

“I still doubt, I think it will be very difficult for him. But I only hope that he can be enlightened and that there are good people around him.”