The US government has rejected the result of Peru's presidential election, hinting that economic sanction and political isolation will follow should Mr Alberto Fujimori assume office for a third term on July 28th.
"No president emerging from such a flawed process can claim legitimacy," commented a US State Department spokeswoman, who described Mr Fujimori's "regime" as a threat to regional democracy. The Clinton administration is considering the withdrawal if its ambassador to Peru.
The defeated opposition candidate, Mr Alejandro Toledo, withdrew from the race two weeks ago, citing "enormous irregularities" in the electoral process, which favoured Mr Fujimori, who has ruled Peru for 10 years.
"The third round of the election begins here," said Mr Toledo said, addressing 70,000 supporters in Lima's Plaza San Martin after results were announced on Sunday evening. He plans to hold a series of rallies capitalising on popular discontent. On July 28th, a new congress will take office, in which the opposition is expected to impeach Mr Fujimori on grounds of "impeding the presidential elections". The opposition holds 63 seats out of 120 in congress, sufficient for the simple majority required for impeachment.
The sound of stones and tear gas canisters echoed around the streets of Lima early yesterday morning, as riot police faced down several hundred youths protesting the re-election of Mr Fujimori, who secured 50.3 per cent of preferences in Sunday's second round run-off.
Mr Fujimori did not appear in public after the result was announced while his planned victory rally attracted just 3,000 people, most of them bussed in from poor barrios on the outskirts of town.
"The streets belong to the people, not to the dictator," chanted Mr Toledo's followers, who promised to launch a sustained campaign of civil disobedience. Mr Toledo, leading the Peru Posible alliance, won 16 per cent of votes after calling on supporters to boycott the ballot.
The spoiled votes made up 32 per cent of votes, signalling widespread dissatisfaction at the electoral process.
Lima was quiet yesterday morning and Mr Fujimori is hoping to wait for the national and international outcry to blow over. That prospect seems unlikely, as the US, France and Latin-American governments united in condemnation of the results.
The question mark over the legality of these elections goes back to 1992 when Mr Fujimori shut down congress and the Supreme Court, relaunching state institutions under his control. A new constitution permitted the once-off re-election of the president, allowing Mr Fujimori to run for office in 1995.
His defeat of the Shining Path insurgency and control of hyperinflation made him a popular figure, while international financial institutions approved his privatisation programme.
However he shut down independent media, harassed opponents and resolved to run for a third term of office, despite growing opposition to his authoritarian rule. In 1996, he corrected his own constitution, which opened the way for a third term. The irregularities monitored in the first round of voting included the final tally, which recorded one million more votes than voters, while six vote-counters were suspended after altering incoming tallies.
Despite suspect count procedures, Mr Toledo won a remarkable 40 per cent of the vote, building up momentum for the second round, backed by the other defeated presidential candidates.