LEFTIST presidential candidate Pedro Castillo is leading in the first round of polling in the Peruvian presidential election, with a second round of voting to take place in June.

The country’s National Elections Jury (JNE) announced on Monday that the final results are not likely to be published until May.

“We will announce who will go to the second round of presidential elections in the first week of next month,” JNE president Jorge Salas said.

Mr Castillo, who is candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Peru Libre party, was ahead on 16.1 per cent of the vote, far short of the total needed to avoid a run-off with the second-placed candidate.

Avanza Pais Party (AP) hopeful Hernando de Soto was runner-up, with 14.4 per cent of the votes, followed by conservative businessman Rafael Lopez, in third place on 13.1 per cent. 

Disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori’s daughter Keiko Fujimori, who is standing as candidate for the right-wing Popular Force (FP), was in fourth position with 12.9 percent of the ballots.

But as votes continued to be counted, the gap was closing, with some analysts predicting she would take second spot and face Mr Castillo in June’s head-to-head poll.

Ms Fujimori is a deeply divisive figure whose father was jailed for human rights abuses. 

She herself has spent time on remand over claims that she took payments of $1.2 million (£870,000) from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which she denies.

The election has been described as Peru’s most fragmented contest, with some 18 candidates vying for the presidency.

Many Peruvians lined up to cast their ballot despite the coronavirus pandemic to avoid being fined for failing to vote.

While supporters welcomed Mr Castillo’s early lead, they are remaining cautious in the wake of Andres Arauz’s shock defeat to right-wing former banker Guillermo Lasso in neighbouring Ecuador on Sunday.