Backers of ultraconservative candidate Rafael Lopez Aliaga and members of civic groups demanded their votes be respected following serious accusations of fraud against the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) over irregularities in the organisation and logistics of the race.

Shouting “no to fraud, respect the vote”, demonstrators carried flags and signs near ONPE headquarters.

“These elections are already a fraud, but they don’t want to admit it. We are going to fight for our votes,” 64-year-old Edith Valverde told AFP.

Results from the first round of Peru’s presidential election will not be released until mid-May, an official said Saturday, after a chaotic vote leading to what appeared to be a tight race.

With 93.4% of ballots counted from last Sunday’s election, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori was leading with 17%.

The top two candidates go to a runoff election, and a close race has emerged for a spot in the next round between leftist Roberto Sanchez, who received 12% of the vote, and Lopez Aliaga, with 11.9%.

Lopez Aliaga, the former mayor of capital Lima, has emerged as the harshest critic of the vote’s delays.

He has alleged fraud, without providing evidence, and called for the vote to be annulled.

A record 35 candidates ran for president on April 12 in the chronically unstable Andean nation, where four of the last eight presidents were impeached by Congress.

The election was marked by delays in the delivery of election materials that forced authorities to extend voting into Monday in parts of Lima.

The EU’s election observer mission nonetheless gave the election a clean bill of health.