MARCHES and rallies were held in towns and cities across Peru today to defend the election victory of Pedro Castillo, who won the most votes in the June 6 presidential run-off.

His rival, Keiko Fujimori, has been accused of political manoeuvring, lodging a number of legal challenges with unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud. 

The National Jury of Elections (JNE) announced on Tuesday that Mr Castillo, a self-declared Marxist-Leninist, had received 8,835,579 votes, finishing ahead of Ms Fujimori by 44,058 votes.

Observers — including the Washington-based Organisation of American States — declared the election “free, fair and transparent,” and did not note any irregularities.

But Ms Fujimori’s challenges could delay the official announcement of Mr Castillo’s victory by weeks, amid fears of an attempt to steal the election victory from the Free Peru candidate.

New Peru Movement head Veronika Mendoza called on social movements, trade unionists and progressives to join today’s demonstrations to support Mr Castillo “in a firm but peaceful and joyful way.”

Marches took place under the slogans “No to Keiko” and “Fujimori never again” — a reference to her father, disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year jail sentence for corruption.