Key facts
- Keiko Fujimori leads Peru's presidential runoff with 50.135% of the final vote count.
- Roberto Sanchez trails with 49.865% of the vote.
- Sanchez alleges fraud, particularly regarding overseas ballots, and refuses to recognize Fujimori's victory.
- Fujimori will become Peru's first elected female president.
- Her victory follows a history of political instability and division in Peru.
Keiko Fujimori is set to become Peru's new president after leading the final count of the presidential runoff election, with the country's electoral authority completing the tally of all votes. The conservative Fujimori secured 50.135% of the votes, a narrow lead of approximately 43,386 votes over her leftist rival, Roberto Sanchez, who garnered 49.865%.
Sanchez has alleged serious violations of the electoral process, particularly concerning overseas votes, and has stated he will not recognize Fujimori's victory, announcing further mobilizations by his supporters. This stance mirrors Fujimori's own reaction when she lost the 2021 election to Pedro Castillo.
Fujimori, 51, will be Peru's first elected female president. Her victory comes after four previous presidential bids and amid a deeply divided country marked by political instability and fragile institutions. She inherits a nation that has seen numerous presidents jailed, deposed, or impeached in the past decade.
Her campaign focused on Peru's security crisis, promising measures such as military patrols, immediate expulsion of criminal migrants, and requiring prisoners to work for their food. She sought to equate the current fight against crime with her father Alberto Fujimori's efforts against terrorism in the 1990s, though his legacy is controversial due to his authoritarian rule, corruption, and human rights abuses.
Fujimori's party, Fuerza Popular, is the largest in Congress, but she will face challenges in negotiating alliances to pass reforms and govern for the significant portion of the population that did not vote for her. The country remains polarized, with a left-wing opposition and broader anti-Fujimorismo movements potentially posing further challenges.