Peruvian electoral authorities announced on Sunday that the right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori and far-left candidate Roberto Sánchez will head to the presidential runoff on June 7. The declaration has set the stage for a second-round showdown that will take place against the backdrop of a prolonged, chaotic ballot count that stretched for over a month. Peru’s electoral body released the final vote count on Friday. The results are yet to be confirmed to set the second round, as none of the candidates could garner half the valid votes.
The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) concluded a painstaking tabulation of the ballots from the first-round vote that was held on April 12. Peru’s National Elections Board, based on these counts, formalised the final matchup between Fujimori and Sànchez.
As it turns out, none of the 35 candidates on the ballot managed to secure more than half of the valid votes; therefore, Peru’s electoral laws mandate a direct head-to-head runoff between the top two finishers.
A Polarised Rematch
The 50-year-old congresswoman Keiko Fujimori, daughter of the late autocratic President Alberto Fujimori, secured her place at the top of the ticket by gathering 2,877,678 votes, representing 17.19 per cent of the total.
Running under the Fuerza Popular banner, this marks the fourth consecutive time Fujimori has successfully advanced to a presidential runoff, having narrowly lost each of her previous bids.
The race for the second runoff spot, however, concluded in a razor-thin photo finish.
Roberto Sánchez of the Juntos por el Perú party edged out conservative billionaire and former Lima Mayor Rafael López Aliaga. Official data released by the electoral body showed Sánchez capturing 12.03 per cent of the vote with 2,015,114 ballots, barely pushing past López Aliaga, who finished his campaign with 11.90 per cent.
Sánchez, a former minister of foreign trade and tourism under ousted former President Pedro Castillo, has heavily channelled his predecessor’s populist appeal. He frequently campaigns wearing a traditional peasant straw hat to signal his alignment with the rural, indigenous communities of the southern Andes, who feel systematically ignored by the capital’s elites.
Fraud Allegations Mar First Round
The month-long delay in certifying the official results stems from a tumultuous voting process that sparked widespread political backlash. Logistical failures, including massive delays in transporting voting materials to nearly 850 polling stations across Lima, disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of citizens. The electoral mismanagement forced officials to extend voting by an additional day.
In response to the severe logistical breakdowns, the country’s national electoral body pledged to overhaul and fix voting flaws ahead of the June 7 balloting to restore public confidence.
The procedural failures had initially prompted López Aliaga to level intense, unsubstantiated allegations of systemic fraud. The conservative candidate demanded an outright annulment of the elections.
While López Aliaga and his party eventually accepted the final results, they vowed to utilise their strength in the newly reinstalled bicameral Congress to fiercely oppose the incoming administration.
Political and Legal Baggage
Both advancing candidates carry significant political and legal baggage into the final phase of the campaign. While Fujimori continues to combat the autocratic legacy of her father’s 1990s regime, Sánchez is facing active scrutiny from the Attorney General’s Office.
Prosecutors are pushing for a five-year prison sentence against Sánchez over allegations of campaign fund embezzlement dating back to 2018.
Sánchez has denied the accusations, insisting the legal challenge is entirely politically motivated.
“That investigation began back in 2018, and I was accused of personally misusing party funds,” Sánchez stated to reporters, defending his record. “And what has the judiciary said after five or six years? The case has been shelved. The fraud charges in my case have been dismissed.”
Sánchez has campaigned on a radical platform to draft a new constitution that expands the state’s role in the economy. He has promised to place vital infrastructure, ports, and mining under strict state control. Fujimori has positioned herself as a defender of the private sector, centring her platform on a tough-on-crime strategy. She promises to restore domestic order by deploying more police and building four new mega-prisons.
