Election Results from Peru, Iran, and Armenia

In recent weeks, elections have been held in several countries around the world. Today, NFK looks at the recent election results from Peru, Iran, and Armenia.

Still No Winner Two Weeks After Peru’s Election

On June 6, Peru held its second round of voting for president. Pedro Castillo took 50.13% of the votes, giving him a small lead over Keiko Fujimori who earned 49.87% of the votes. No winner has been declared, even though the election was held over two weeks ago.

In Peru’s second round of voting for president on June 6, Pedro Castillo took 50.13% of the votes, giving him a small lead. No winner has been announced. Above, Mr. Castillo speaks to supporters on June 15.

Mr. Castillo and Ms. Fujimori were the top candidates in the first round of voting in April.

Mr. Castillo is a teacher who is fairly new to politics. Much of his support came from places far from Peru’s large cities. Mr. Castillo says he’ll focus on working people and will improve education and health care.

Ms. Fujimori is a longtime politician. Her father is Alberto Fujimori, who was Peru’s president in the 1990s, but is now in prison. Ms. Fujimori has also been accused of crimes and has spent time in prison. Ms. Fujimori says she’ll fight crime and use money from Peru’s mines to improve life in the country.

Keiko Fujimori earned 49.87% of the votes. She and her supporters have been fighting the election results. They hope to get 200,000 of Mr. Castillo’s votes thrown out. Above, Ms. Fujimori speaks to supporters on June 19.

Ms. Fujimori and her supporters have been fighting the election results. They’re trying to get 200,000 of Mr. Castillo’s votes thrown out. Mr. Castillo only leads by 44,240 votes. International observers reported no problems with the election.

It’s not clear when the results will be announced. No matter who wins, the result is likely to cause big disagreements in the country. 

Tough Top Judge Is Elected Iran’s President

On Saturday, Iran announced that its top judge, Ebrahim Raisi, had been elected president. The result wasn’t a surprise. Less than half the country turned out to vote. Many people chose not to vote because the government prevented many candidates from running.

Mr. Raisi is good friends with the country’s highest leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s top judge, Ebrahim Raisi, has been elected president. Many candidates weren’t allowed to run. Mr. Raisi is good friends with the country’s highest leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (seen in the banner above).

Mr. Raisi is part of a group of “hard-liners” who believe in strict control over Iran’s citizens. In the past, Mr. Raisi is believed to have ordered the deaths of many people who were put in prison for their politics. Many people expect that Iranians and news groups will have less freedom under Mr. Raisi.

The US and other countries are in talks with Iran to bring back an agreement that would limit the country’s nuclear weapons program. Those talks are continuing. Mr. Raisi has said he is in favor of reaching an agreement.

Mr. Raisi is part of a group of “hard-liners” who believe in strict control over Iran’s citizens. Many people expect that Iranians and news groups will have less freedom under Mr. Raisi. Above, Mr. Raisi speaks with reporters on Monday.

 

Prime Minister’s Party Wins Snap Election in Armenia

Sunday’s election in Armenia appears to have returned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party, Civil Contract, to power. Election workers said that Civil Contract won 53.9% of the vote.

A coalition of parties led by Ex-President Robert Kocharyan were the main opposition. This coalition earned only 21% of the vote. Mr. Kocharyan says the election was unfair.

Sunday’s election in Armenia has returned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party, Civil Contract, to power with 53.9% of the vote. The election was called following Armenia’s defeat in a six-week war with Azerbaijan last fall.

The election was called following Armenia’s defeat in a six-week war with Azerbaijan last fall. The defeat caused many Armenians to become very upset with Mr. Pashinyan. Around 6,500 people were killed in the fighting, and Armenia lost lots of land and some important buildings during the war.

Still, the election results make it clear that Armenia’s voters are more comfortable with Mr. Pashinyan and his party than with the opposition coalition.

The country’s loss to Azerbaijan made many Armenians upset with Mr. Pashinyan. But that wasn’t enough to convince Armenia’s voters to elect the opposition coalition, led by Ex-President Robert Kocharyan. Above, Mr. Kocharyan at a rally before the election.