Peru's government rejects Fujimori call for international audit for June 6 poll

FILE PHOTO: Peru's presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori addresses the media after delivering a letter requesting an international audit of the vote to the government palace, in Lima, Peru June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's government on Friday evening rejected a request by presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori to seek an international audit of its June 6 election, leaving her with few recourses to overturn the apparent lead over her rival candidate Pedro Castillo.

The Minister of Justice, Eduardo Vega, explained in a letter sent to Fujimori, a conservative and the daughter of the imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori, that legally the government cannot intervene while the country's electoral jury reviews her claims of alleged irregularities.