Peru’s Fujimori, leftist Sanchez deadlocked in presidential runoff poll

LIMA, April 26 (Reuters) – Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori is heading for a dead-heat presidential runoff against leftist Roberto Sanchez, a new poll showed on Sunday, as Peru’s vote count drags on amid fraud allegations and a razor-thin battle for second place.

The daughter of late President Alberto Fujimori would tie with Sanchez at 38% each in a June 7 runoff, polling firm Ipsos Peru said, in the first survey since the April 12 first round.

• The slow count has sparked fraud allegations from ultra-conservative Rafael Lopez Aliaga, who trails Sanchez by about 24,000 votes in the fight for second place – a gap that has widened in recent days.

• Lopez Aliaga has demanded thousands of votes be annulled as fraudulent, but European Union observers said they found no evidence to support the claims.

• With 95.8% of votes counted, Fujimori leads with 17%, while Sanchez has 12% and Lopez Aliaga 11.9%.

• If Fujimori faces Lopez Aliaga instead, she would lose 31%-34%, the poll showed.

• The Organization of American States on Friday backed the electoral board’s rejection of demands for supplementary elections, and called for “unrestricted respect for the popular will.”

• Sanchez served as a minister under jailed former President Pedro Castillo.

(Reporting by Marco AquinoEditing by Bill Berkrot)