LEFT-WING figures across Latin America began congratulating Peru’s Pedro Castillo yesterday after the final votes in the country’s presidential election appeared to show that he had won.

Mr Castillo gained 50.2 per cent of the votes against right-winger Keiko Fujimori’s 49.8 per cent.

But Peru’s electoral tribunal, expected to take a week or more to officially declare the winner, is evaluating 631 tally sheets following unsubstantiated accusations of voter fraud from Ms Fujimori’s campaign.