By Marco Aquino and Lucinda Elliott
LIMA, April 24 (Reuters) – Peru’s former chief electoral official, who resigned this week amid mounting criticism over delays in counting votes from the April 12 general election, is now under investigation as part of a broader probe into alleged electoral irregularities, with police raiding his home on Friday to collect evidence.
Footage broadcast by local media showed police entering the residence of Piero Corvetto, the former head of Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), in Lima’s Miraflores district under a judicial warrant. Peruvian police also carried out searches of up to 12 buildings as part of the probe, authorities said.
Peru’s public prosecutor’s office said the raid was carried out by the anti‑corruption police unit alongside prosecutors, amid growing public allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.
Prosecutor Raul Martinez, who is leading the case, ordered the seizure of mobile phones, laptops and documents from Corvetto’s home, local broadcaster RPP reported.
Corvetto resigned on Tuesday, saying it was “necessary and unavoidable” for him to step down to help restore public confidence in the electoral process, after logistical failures led to prolonged delays at polling stations and in releasing results from the April 12 elections.
He denied any wrongdoing in his resignation letter and said unresolved issues should be addressed through an impartial investigation.
Observers from the European Union have said they found no evidence of fraud.
The slow vote count has fueled fraud allegations in Peru from several candidates. Electoral authorities this week began reviewing thousands of contested ballots due to inconsistencies or errors on tally sheets, a process that has further delayed final results.
As of Friday morning, around 95% of votes had been tallied, according to ONPE, with conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori leading with roughly 17% of the vote, and a tight race for second place between left‑wing lawmaker Roberto Sanchez and former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga. Sanchez wasleading by roughly 20,000 votes.
Peru’s National Jury of Elections has said final results will be announced by May 15, ahead of a scheduled presidential runoff on June 7.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Lucinda Elliott; Editing by Cassandra Garrison)
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