"No one can say 'I have already won,'" says Sánchez, hopeful about Peru poll tie

Leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez stated that "no one can say 'I have already won'" following the release of exit polls indicating a statistical tie with his right-wing opponent, Keiko Fujimori. Sánchez expressed immense expectation regarding the strong backing he has received, particularly noting a surge in Lima where his support reportedly jumped from 3% in the first round to over 36%.

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It is crystal clear that in this initial exit poll there is a statistical tie, it is crystal clear. For us, it is of immense expectation due to the relevant support, which has been noted for example in the city of Lima where we went from 3% in the first round to over 36%.

After visiting former President Pedro Castillo in prison, Sánchez, who is running in Castillo's name, moved to his party's headquarters. He affirmed his commitment to respecting the official results and conveyed enthusiasm for defending the votes cast by rural and urban populations. Sánchez pointed to historical trends in Peruvian elections where exit polls have shown a slight lead for certain candidates, only for their opponents to ultimately win, citing the cases of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Pedro Castillo.

Sánchez specifically thanked the regions for their "overwhelming support," claiming he has a significant lead over Fujimori in several Andean departments. He suggested that the rural vote might be underrepresented in the initial exit polls and anticipates it will become more evident as the official count progresses. Sánchez expressed happiness with the popular movement's resilience against what he described as Fujimori's "brutal campaign" funded by millions, supported by media, and backed by a broad coalition.

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no one can say 'I have already won'

According to Ipsos, Fujimori secured 50.7% of valid votes compared to Sánchez's 49.3%, a 1.4 percentage point difference. Datum reported a closer margin, with Fujimori at 50.53% and Sánchez at 49.47%, a difference of just 1.06%. Both polls have a margin of error of 3%, meaning the outcome remains inconclusive until the official results are tallied.

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We are in conditions of unrestricted respect for the official results (...) we want with much enthusiasm, with much hope, for the moment of defending the vote of the deep peoples, the rural peoples and all Peruvians to arrive now.