LIMA, Peru (AP) — The head of Peru’s national election agency resigned Tuesday over logistical problems that have affected the nation’s bitterly disputed presidential election, a contest for which officials still have not named the winners more than a week after voting took place.
In a letter sent to Peruvian authorities, Piero Corvetto denied any wrongdoing but said the problems encountered during the April 12 election prompted him to resign in order to “generate more confidence” in a runoff vote that will be held June 7.
More than 30 candidates participated in Peru’s presidential election on April 12 as well as hundreds of others running for congressional seats.
The election had to be extended for an additional day, after the agency failed to deliver voting materials to more than a dozen centers in Lima, a problem that prevented more than 52,000 people from casting their ballots on time.
Officials in Peru are still counting votes and sifting through tally sheets that are arriving from remote areas and Peruvian consulates abroad.
A runoff between the top two contenders will be held in June because none of the candidates was able to get more than 50% of the votes.
With 93.8% of votes counted, conservative leader Keiko Fujimori is leading the election with 17.04% of the vote, and looks almost certain to enter the June runoff.
Roberto Sánchez, a nationalist congressman and former minister under imprisoned ex-President Pedro Castillo, who has promised to partially nationalize Peru’s natural resources is in second place so far with 12.01% of the votes, but is closely followed by the ultraconservative former mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, with 11.91% of the votes.
López Aliaga has challenged the partial results of the election saying, without providing any evidence, that a “gigantic fraud” was committed by Peruvian officials, and calling for a “complementary” election, in which hundreds of thousands of Peruvians who did not cast their ballots on April 12 can participate.
An electoral observation mission sent to Peru by the European Union said last week that while the election faced logistical problems, it did not find any evidence of a fraudulent vote count.
On Monday, Peru’s electoral tribunal set a May 15 deadline for officials to finish counting votes and name the candidates advancing to the second round in the nation’s highly contested presidential election.
The winner will be Peru’s ninth president in just 10 years and will replace José María Balcázar, who was elected interim president in February. He replaced another interim leader who was ousted over corruption allegations just four months into his term.
Roberto Sanchez, presidential candidate of Together for Peru party, greets a woman during a visit to a market in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from office on Tuesday moments before the start of a hearing that could have led to a recommendation that she be expelled from Congress.
Cherfilus-McCormick was the subject of a more than two-year investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which had determined recently that she had violated multiple federal laws and House rules. Support from her own party was increasingly in doubt.
It's the third resignation in a little more than a week from a House lawmaker. Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced within hours of each other that they were leaving Congress. Both men were facing sexual misconduct allegations and possible expulsion.
In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the House committee denied her new attorney's request for more time to prepare a defense. She also said she would not pretend that the investigation had been anything other than a “witch hunt,” and rather than play political games, she would resign, effective immediately.
“But let me say this plainly: we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete," she said. "We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous patch, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party.”
Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing federal criminal charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using the money to buy items such as a 3-carat yellow diamond ring.
She has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and says she is not guilty of ethics violations, either.
The allegations against the congresswoman center on how she received millions of dollars from her family’s health care business after Florida mistakenly overpaid the business by roughly $5 million with COVID-19 disaster relief funds. She is accused of using that money to fund her 2022 congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members.
Cherfilus-McCormick declined to testify during a previous Ethics Committee hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her attorney, William Barzee, sparred with some of the lawmakers and argued that they should have allowed a thorough ethics trial, at which he could present witnesses and evidence to counter the conclusions of House investigators.
A group of supporters in Cherfilus-McCormick's congressional district had weighed in on her behalf with the lawmakers who lead the Ethics Committee, urging committee leaders to proceed with caution in sanctioning her.
“Our communities deserve stability. Our voices deserve to be heard. And our right to representation must be protected,” said one of the letters signed by about a dozen local faith leaders, union officials and others.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, along with other members of the caucus, issued a statement that praised Cherfilus-McCormick's time in Congress. They said Cherfilus-McCormick “worked to uplift her constituents and elevate issues impacting underserved communities at home and abroad.”
“We extend our appreciation for her service and offer our prayers for her and her family," the caucus members said.
In all, the Ethics panel's more than two-year investigation led to the issuance of 59 subpoenas, 28 witness interviews and a review of more than 33,000 pages of documents.
House Democratic leaders had declined to condemn Cherfilus-McCormick, saying they wanted to see the ethics process play out.
Still, leadership had been in conversations with her for weeks, ever since the Ethics committee released its findings, about the situation and the likelihood of an expulsion vote.
The House has historically been reluctant to serve as the final arbiter of a lawmaker’s career, preferring to give that final say to the voters.
Of the six House members expelled, the first three fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and were expelled for disloyalty. The next two had been convicted of crimes. The final one was George Santos, the scandal-plagued freshman who was the subject of a blistering ethics report on his conduct as well as a federal indictment.
Santos, a New York Republican, served time in prison for ripping off his campaign donors before President Donald Trump granted him clemency, and he has apologized to his former constituents.
Under the Constitution, at least two-thirds of the House has to vote for expulsion for it to occur, a high threshold that requires enormous bipartisan support.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last week he believed the House would move to expel Cherfilus-McCormick.
“The facts are indisputable at this point," Johnson said.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., took exception to Cherfilus-McCormick's characterization of the Ethics Committee's investigation.
“Well, if you steal money, it's called theft. It's not called a witch hunt, and stealing taxpayer money is not going to be tolerated,” Scalise said.
Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed.
FILE - Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., condemns hate speech and misinformation about Haitian immigrants, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
