Peru runoff – Hours after Peru’s presidential runoff polls closed, electoral authorities were still tallying ballots to choose the ninth leader in 10 years. Conservative Keiko Fujimori held a narrow edge over nationalist Roberto Sánchez, but the final result could take days
In Lima. people walked out of voting centers with no clear sense that the country’s next president would be known anytime soon. Hours after polls closed Sunday. Peru’s electoral authorities were still slowly tallying ballots in a runoff expected to be tight. while crime fears hung over the day’s quiet voting lines.
Figures released by electoral authorities showed Keiko Fujimori. a conservative politician. leading Roberto Sánchez. a nationalist congressman. with 58% of ballots tallied. Fujimori had 5.96 million votes, or 52.6%, while Sánchez had 5.36 million votes, or 47.4%. The contest may not be settled for days.
Unlike the first round, there were no major incidents reported that delayed opening or closing voting centers. In the capital, turnout appeared lower than in the previous contest, with practically no lines at many centers despite voting being mandatory.
The stakes are unusually high in Peru. This runoff is deciding the ninth head of state in 10 years. Fujimori and Sánchez came through a crowded April field of 33 candidates. but neither reached even 20% support in that first-round vote. Electoral authorities took more than a month to declare the winners of that earlier election.
Crime shaped the concerns people brought with them. A 2025 national survey carried out by the state’s National Institute of Statistics and Informatics found that 84% of respondents in urban areas feared becoming victims of a crime in the following 12 months.
Experts point to the growing power of organized crime in Peru and tie it to profits that long-standing criminal groups earn from illegal gold mining in the Andes and the Amazon.
Yet voters did not see the candidates’ crime-fighting plans as enough. Official results from April’s election showed Fujimori received 17% of the vote and Sánchez got 12%. More than six weeks later. an Ipsos poll found similar shares of voters backing them. with about 3 in 10 saying they were undecided. The country’s debate about safety has been tangled with distrust of politics itself.
Fujimori is the daughter of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori. She became Peru’s first lady in 1994 after her parents’ separation. and her campaign is closely linked to the authoritarian and corrupt legacy of her father’s 1990s government. Sánchez is viewed by many as an ally of jailed former President Pedro Castillo. Castillo’s 16-month term featured more than 70 Cabinet changes, and many people perceive him as corrupt and chaotic.
At a voting center in Lima. a food vendor named Magali Quiquia said she cast a blank ballot because she did not find either candidate convincing. Quiquia. 44. said she had been disappointed by Castillo five years ago due to corruption. and she added that “Roberto Sánchez is the same.” She also said she believes “Fujimori hasn’t done anything either” despite her party holding multiple seats in Congress.
Voting in Peru is mandatory for people aged 18 to 70, and failure to vote results in a fine of up to $32. More than 27 million people are registered. About 1.2 million were expected to cast ballots from abroad, mainly in the United States and Argentina.
The candidates’ proposals for security differ, but both campaigns are rooted in the same public alarm. For most of her fourth presidential campaign, Fujimori promised to crack down on crime. Her plan included implementing technology to track extortion. militarizing borders. and increasing the presence of police and military personnel in high-risk areas. She also said prisoners would be required to work and that they would “repay society” if she wins.
In the runoff’s only debate, Fujimori defended her father’s government and said she would defeat crime the same way he defeated the Shining Path, a violent extremist group.
Sánchez. 57. is popular with rural voters and promised to combat corruption within the police force and push reforms that would allow the military to support security efforts. He wore a wide-brimmed peasant hat gifted by Castillo. During the debate. he told viewers he would be open to “all options to generate jobs and progress. ” while emphasizing his support for Chinese investments.
Sánchez sought to ease investor concerns about his candidacy by saying he would not nationalize any assets of transnational companies that extract minerals or gas from Peru.
Lima resident Heidi Ramírez, 41, said she was undecided until she reached the voting center. After talking with friends who “convinced me,” she said she chose Sánchez.
U.S. attention was visible as well. The United States ambassador to Peru, Bernie Navarro, visited a voting center in Lima on Sunday. When he left, he told the television station Latina that his visit was to “observe and ensure that there is transparency here.”
The person who wins the runoff will be sworn in to a five-year term on July 28.
Peru presidential runoff Keiko Fujimori Roberto Sánchez crime fears extortion illegal mining electoral authorities Lima voting