The head of Peru's election authority told AFP that the results of Sunday's presidential election may not be known for a fortnight, dashing hopes of a quick resolution to the ultra-tight race.
Bernardo Pachas said Tuesday that "it could take anywhere from two weeks to the end of the month" to know whether conservative Keiko Fujimori or leftist Roberto Sanchez had won.
With about 18 million ballots counted, Sanchez was ahead by just 20,000 votes and the race was still much too close to call.
About four percent of voting places have yet to report, including centers in Lima, the Amazon and overseas.
Many voters had hoped the election would draw a line under years of political chaos that has seen a string of presidents jailed, deposed and impeached.
Whoever is elected will be the ninth president in a decade.
But the tight result shows the Andean nation remains deeply divided between the populous coast and the more rural, Indigenous south.
Fujimori, 51, has already tried and failed to reach the presidency three times.
But she now hopes to ride a wave of support for right-wing candidates who have won recent elections in Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador with a tough-on-crime message.
She is the daughter of the late president Alberto Fujimori, who had been jailed for human rights violations.
Sanchez, a 57-year-old former psychologist, surged late in the race to reach the runoff.
He has moderated his early calls for "radical change" and told AFP he wants a "respectful" relationship with US President Donald Trump.
Both campaigns believe they can still win and, for now, neither candidate has claimed fraud.
"We are going to wait very cautiously" Fujimori said Tuesday, "I think it is far too early to declare a winner, I must wait."
EU election observers said the vote took place in a "calm and orderly" manner.
Chief EU observer Annalisa Corrado urged candidates to "wait patiently for the official proclamation of the results."
"The result of the June 7 presidential election has led us to a statistical tie."
The first round presidential election result took more than 30 days to complete.
Before declaring a winner, election officials will have to examine results from districts where the tally has been challenged -- representing about 400,000 votes.
Neither Sanchez nor Fujimori will have a legislative majority and whoever wins must build alliances to complete their term, according to analyst Jeffrey Radzinsky.
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