Peru's presidential proclamation expected by mid-July amid vote recounts

Peru's National Jury of Elections (JNE) anticipates officially proclaiming the country's next president by mid-July, a spokesperson confirmed Monday. This timeline allows for the president-elect's inauguration and the start of the 2026-2031 government term.

The JNE is currently reviewing 1,661 vote tallies that were flagged during the second round of presidential elections. These observed ballots have been sent to special electoral juries for evaluation. If an observation cannot be resolved through a comparison of records, the voting slips themselves are requested for a recount.

This recount process involves a three-day period for the electoral juries to convene a hearing, followed by another three days for the contesting political parties to appeal the results. This legal procedure is contributing to the delay in finalizing the vote count. As of now, 1,493 ballots have been resolved, while 175 require a recount. Public hearings for 15 of these have concluded, with 83 more scheduled.

Notably, vote recounts have been ordered for three overseas polling stations: Asunción, Paraguay; Washington, D.C., United States; and Florence, Italy. Two of these locations already have scheduled hearings.

With 98.593% of the vote counted, right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds a slim 50.051% lead over leftist contender Roberto Sánchez's 49.949%. Fujimori's advantage stands at 18,478 votes. Sánchez had requested a full recount to ensure the legitimacy of the results, a move rejected by Fujimori's Fuerza Popular party. Overseas votes, as well as those from Lima and coastal cities, largely favored Fujimori, while Sánchez's support was concentrated in rural areas and the southern regions.