Peru presidential runoff too close to call as Fujimori holds narrow lead

Crime was a dominant issue for Peruvian voters, with soaring homicide and extortion rates leading to widespread protests. Fujimori leaned into her father's legacy, comparing his fight against insurgents to the country's current struggle with organized crime. Sanchez, who has promised ambitious reforms, has rattled markets.

Whoever wins will face a fragmented Congress, which has removed three presidents in the past five years. Voting proceeded normally, according to election observers and Peru's electoral authority. The Ipsos quick count uses a representative sampling of polling stations across the country and has been an accurate indicator of the final count in previous elections. Ipsos showed Fujimori dominating Lima, carrying the urban vote and the coast, while Sanchez swept the rural vote and the sierra.

As of Monday, with over 90% of votes counted, Fujimori maintained a slight lead with 50.48% of the votes, while Sanchez trailed by less than 200,000 votes with 49.52%. The race remained too close to call and continued to tighten as the count entered its second day.