Peru Election: Keiko Fujimori Declared President After Narrow Victory

Peru Election officials have declared conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori the winner of the country’s presidential election after a tightly contested runoff and weeks of legal challenges, protests and allegations of electoral fraud.

According to Peru’s electoral office, Fujimori secured 50.135% of the vote in the June 7 runoff, defeating left-wing congressman Roberto Sanchez, who received 49.865%. The final margin was approximately 50,000 votes out of nearly 18 million ballots cast.

In a message posted on X, Fujimori said the result marked “the beginning of a new phase” and pledged to govern with responsibility, humility and a commitment to dialogue during the transition period.

The outcome reverses Fujimori’s narrow defeat in the 2021 presidential election, when she lost to former President Pedro Castillo by around 45,000 votes. Castillo was impeached and imprisoned in 2022 after attempting to dissolve Congress.

Sanchez, widely regarded as Castillo’s political successor, rejected the election result and alleged electoral fraud without presenting evidence. He has organised demonstrations, challenged the outcome before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and said he will not recognise Fujimori’s administration.

Fujimori’s victory was driven by strong support in the capital, Lima, and among Peruvians voting overseas, while Sanchez performed better in many rural regions of the country.

The closely fought election has once again exposed Peru’s deep political divisions after years of instability that have seen multiple presidents removed from office.

Fujimori is due to take office on 28 July, becoming Peru’s 10th president since 2016. She will succeed interim President Jose Balcazar, who assumed office earlier this year following another period of political upheaval.

Several conservative leaders across Latin America, including Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Chilean politician Jose Antonio Kast and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, congratulated Fujimori following the official announcement.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed the result, saying Washington looked forward to strengthening cooperation with Peru on trade, investment and security.

Financial markets responded positively to the outcome. Moody’s said a Fujimori administration is expected to maintain policy continuity, strengthen investor confidence and support economic growth, while potentially accelerating delayed mining projects in Peru, one of the world’s largest copper producers.

Keiko Fujimori, 51, is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, whose decade-long rule from 1990 to 2000 remains one of the most divisive periods in Peru’s modern history. While supporters credit him with defeating Maoist insurgents and stabilising the economy, critics point to serious human rights violations for which he served 16 years in prison.

Fujimori herself also faced years of investigation over campaign finance allegations before the case was dropped last year.

As president, she will face the challenge of governing a politically divided nation with a fragmented Congress and addressing longstanding economic inequalities between Lima and Peru’s rural regions, where support for Sanchez remains strong.