Peru's Runoff Tilts Left as Sanchez Edges Ahead of Fujimori

The leftist congressman Roberto Sanchez has moved ahead in Peru's presidential runoff, reversing the narrow lead held earlier by his conservative rival Keiko Fujimori. With about 95 percent of the tally sheets processed, Sanchez had roughly 50.1 percent against 49.9 percent for Fujimori, according to MercoPress.

The margin is a few thousand votes, and the result is not settled. Al Jazeera reports that the count narrowed as ballots from rural areas, where Sanchez performed strongly, were tallied. Votes from international polling stations, which are expected to favor Fujimori, have yet to be counted.

The outcome matters beyond Peru. The country is one of the world's largest copper producers, and the contest between a nationalist left and a market-oriented right will shape mining policy, investment terms and the fiscal approach of a significant supplier to global industry.

A result favoring the left would also contribute to the wider contest for influence in Latin America, where Washington has been working to limit Chinese commercial reach across the hemisphere and where the political orientation of resource-rich states has strategic importance.