Unrest was still high in Peru after a week after the vote that left no clear winner, with leftist candidate Pedro Castillo leading in the count by a narrow margin over his right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori, who has denounced fraud.

The count, stalled since Saturday at over 99 per cent of polling stations, gave the former teacher 50.2 percent of the vote, an advantage of fewer than 50,000 votes over Ms Fujimori, who has shown little evidence of her fraud allegations.

Castillo, 51, who was little known before his surprise victory in the first round of the election back in April, has shaken the Andean country's political and business establishment with his plans to reform the Constitution and increase taxes on mining.

It is not yet clear when the country's electoral authorities will formally announce the winner, although Mr Castillo has called for the recount to be closed quickly to end the uncertainty.

Fujimori, 46, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori (in jail for corruption and human rights abuses), has vowed to fight until the last vote is counted.

Castillo's party has rejected her accusations of fraud and international observers sent to Peru have said the elections were clean.

If confirmed, Castillo's victory would be a major boost for the left in the region. He comes from a poor area of northern Peru and has attracted rural voters angry at feeling left behind in the country's economic growth.