Keiko Fujimori concedes defeat in Peru presidency

LIMA: Keiko Fujimori, daughter of Peru's jailed ex-strongman Alberto Fujimori, on Monday conceded defeat after a closely-fought presidential runoff against leftist ex-military man Ollanta Humala.

"I recognize his triumph," Fujimori, a right-wing lawmaker, said in a brief message to the media, adding she would later congratulate Humala in person. "I salute his victory and I wish him luck."

"It's a moment to mend bridges," Fujimori added, referring to what had been a polarizing campaign.

With more than 90 percent of the vote counted, Humala slightly extended his lead Monday, with 51.37 percent, against 48.63 percent for Fujimori, official figures showed.

Peru's stock market posted a record loss and world silver prices spiked on the news of the result as Humala's victory raised fears of radical upheaval in a country that is a vital supplier of precious metals to the global market.

In the run-up to the vote, the ex-lieutenant colonel promised to share out Peru's mineral wealth while playing down his former ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Fujimori campaigned in the shadow of her father, Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year jail term for corruption and rights abuses during a 1990s crackdown on leftist guerrillas.

She courted the business community with promises of keeping the free-market model, but the nation's former "first lady" also provoked fears that she would follow down her father's authoritarian path.

The results were seen as a rebuke of the current economic model, though many voters chose the "lesser of two evils" in the second round runoff between the two most extreme candidates.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011