Peru presidential election: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski secures victory

Lima: Peruvian economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will be the next president of Peru, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) has said.

After a long four-day count, Kuczynski from the Peruvians for Change (PPK) on Thursday, edged out his rival Keiko Fujimori, from Popular Force, with a wafer-thin margin, winning by 50.117 per cent to 49. 883 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

The difference in the total votes was of 41,438 with 8,580,474 votes for Kuczynski and 8,539,036 for Fujimori.

Kuczynski took to Twitter to thank his supporters, saying: "Thank you, Peru! It is time to work together for the future of our country."

In a speech in Lima immediately after the outcome was announced, Kuczynski said he would be "seeking to work with all Peruvians. There are many of us who feel the train has passed them by but we want them all to board the train."

Kuczynski will take over as president on July 28 from President Ollanta Humala for a mandate lasting until 2021.

He pledged that he would work so that "by 2021, Peru will be a renewed country."

However, Fujimori`s camp was quick to say that she would not officially recognise the result until a verdict by Peru`s National Electoral Tribunal (JNE).

Her supporter, congressman Pedro Spadaro, told the press after the result was announced that "the JNE will have the final word on the entire electoral process. We will wait patiently...for the Tribunal to give its verdict."

"If the results do not change... we will recognise them," he added.