Peru presidential vote result days away, as candidate faces detention

LIMA: Final results from Peru's presidential election -- in which leftist Pedro Castillo considers himself the winner -- are still days away, officials said Thursday, as a prosecutor sought preventive custody for corruption-accused candidate Keiko Fujimori.

Right-wing populist Fujimori, daughter of a scandal-tainted former Peruvian president, is disputing thousands of votes cast four days earlier as she trails in the nail-biting final count.

Fujimori's corruption trial would be delayed if she wins her presidential race against Castillo, who is clinging to a narrow lead.

Prosecutors have said they would seek a jail term on charges of taking money from scandal-tainted Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to fund failed presidential bids in 2011 and 2016.

The 46-year-old denies the allegations, but has already spent 16 months in pre-trial detention.

Late Wednesday Fujimori, who has claimed electoral fraud, asked Peru's National Electoral Tribunal (JNE) to annul the results from more than 800 polling stations, the equivalent of 200,000 votes.

The tribunal is expected to take about 10 days to weigh the request.

Fujimori has also asked for another 300,000 ballots to be reviewed.