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Peru presidential election too close to call; Fujimori and Sánchez in technical tie
🇲🇽 Mexico /Elections & Politics

Peru presidential election too close to call; Fujimori and Sánchez in technical tie

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Peru's presidential runoff election is too close to call, with Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez in a technical tie.
  • With over 93% of votes counted, Fujimori holds a slight edge, but the final result may take up to 30 days.
  • The tight race echoes the 2021 election, where Fujimori narrowly lost to Pedro Castillo after a prolonged vote count.

Peru's presidential runoff election is on a knife's edge, with conservative Keiko Fujimori and progressive Roberto Sánchez locked in a technical tie as over 93% of ballots have been tallied. As of Monday, Fujimori's Fuerza Popular party had secured 50.057% of the votes, while Sánchez's Juntos por el Perú garnered 49.943%, according to preliminary counts from the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE).

The final result would be in the next 30 days.

— Roberto BurneoEstimating the timeline for the final announcement of the presidential election results.

Roberto Burneo, head of the National Jury of Elections (JNE), indicated that the final result might not be known for up to 30 days, urging citizens and political organizations to remain calm and act with democratic responsibility. The final tally for the first round on April 12 was announced more than a month after the election. This delay is attributed to electoral laws requiring the transportation of every ballot and tally sheet to numerous offices for counting, including those from abroad, alongside vote recounts and the resolution of challenges.

Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori and participating in her fourth presidential bid, has asked her supporters for patience, stating that no winner has been declared yet. Sánchez, addressing supporters from a balcony in Lima, thanked indigenous peoples, farmers, and vulnerable sectors for choosing to "recover the government for the people."

Until now there is no winner in this contest.

— Keiko FujimoriAddressing her supporters amidst the tight election count.

The razor-thin margin is reminiscent of the 2021 presidential runoff between Pedro Castillo and Fujimori. In that election, Castillo ultimately won by a slim margin of 50.1% to 49.9%, with official results declared 43 days later. Fujimori is campaigning on a platform of restoring order, particularly addressing rising crime, which has become Peru's primary concern. She promises "order" for foreign investment and internal security, citing a fivefold increase in extortion and a doubling of murders in the country over the last five years. Fujimori has invoked her father's legacy, promising to combat criminality as he did with the Shining Path extremist group.

who have decided to come and recover the government for the people.

— Roberto SánchezThanking supporters and framing the election as a popular reclamation of power.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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