Sawt Falasteen - Peru confirms election runoff date, court says no to Lima re-vote

Ultra-conservative candidate and former mayor of Lima, Rafael Lopez Aliaga -- who is still vying to be on the June ballot -- had requested a new election in Peru's capital, arguing that problems at polling stations there had prevented thousands of his supporters from voting.

In a statement on social media, the National Jury of Elections (JNE) said the unanimous decision to move forward without redoing Lima's vote came "after a technical-legal analysis and in view of reports issued by competent bodies."

Aliaga accused JNE of tarnishing the electoral process and urged President Roberto Burneo to intervene.

Earlier Friday, Peruvian police raided the home of Piero Corvetto, the former head of the country's electoral authority who resigned this week in the wake of a chaotic presidential election.

The dawn raid in Lima took place simultaneously with searches of premises linked to other former officials of the Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), as well as representatives of a company tasked with transporting election equipment, police said.

"The investigation, focused on the alleged crime of aggravated collusion, aims to uncover illicit agreements that may have compromised state resources," police said in a statement.

Corvetto resigned Tuesday, hours before he was scheduled to be questioned by prosecutors over the April 12 election.

Election day was marred by logistical problems in the capital, preventing tens of thousands of people from voting until the following day, and the ballot count has been painfully slow.

Final results from the first round will not be released until mid-May. The top two candidates will then meet in a June 7 runoff.

With 95 percent of ballots counted, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori easily qualified.

She will face either leftist Roberto Sanchez or Aliaga, with Sanchez narrowly ahead in the latest tally.

The European Union's observer mission cited "serious shortcomings" during the election, but said it had not found "objective evidence" of fraud.

O.Salim--SF-PST