The conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori is on the verge of becoming the next president of Peru. With 99.39% of the ballots counted from the second round held on June 7, the leader of Fuerza Popular maintains a lead of nearly 40,000 votes over the leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez, a difference that could be insurmountable with just over 113,000 votes still to be tallied.
According to official data released by electoral authorities, Fujimori has garnered 9.15 million votes (50.1%), compared to the 9.11 million (49.9%) obtained by Sánchez. The gap between them amounts to 39,566 votes, while 565 disputed ballots remain to be resolved, most of them from Lima, a territory particularly favorable to Fujimorismo.
Despite the lead, Keiko Fujimori has not yet declared victory. This caution is a response to the extreme closeness that has characterized recent electoral processes in Peru, where the 2016 and 2021 presidential elections were also decided by narrow margins.
For his part, Roberto Sánchez has refused to concede defeat and has denounced alleged irregularities in votes cast from abroad. The leftist candidate, backed by sectors close to former president Pedro Castillo, has called for demonstrations this Friday to demand what he calls "electoral justice" and to call for a review of the procedures applied during the second round.
Sánchez maintains that the authorities modified the counting rules compared to the first round of elections in April. Following problems with the digital counting system then, electoral bodies opted to revert to manual counting and strengthen the physical preservation of ballots and papers. The leftist candidate believes these changes have generated legal uncertainty and could have particularly affected overseas votes.
The return of Fujimorismo
If the result is confirmed, Keiko Fujimori would reach the presidency on her fourth attempt. The leader was previously defeated in the second rounds of 2011, 2016, and 2021, becoming one of the most persistent figures in contemporary Peruvian politics.
His eventual victory would also mean the return of Fujimorismo to power twenty-six years after the fall of Alberto Fujimori. His legacy continues to deeply divide Peruvian society: while his supporters highlight economic stabilization and the defeat of the terrorist organizations Shining Path and MRTA, his detractors recall the convictions for human rights violations and the corruption scandals that marked the end of his term.
The elections are taking place in a context of strong institutional wear and tear. Peru has had eight presidents in just one decade, a succession of political crises that has weakened citizen confidence in institutions and turned each electoral appointment into a decisive battle for the country's future.