Keiko Fujimori set to win Peru presidency as opponent refuses to concede
Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori has secured an insurmountable lead in Peru's presidential runoff, putting her on track to become the country's first elected female president. Leftist rival Roberto Sanchez says he will not recognize the result, alleging fraud in overseas voting.
The vote count and lead
With about 99.9 percent of ballots processed from the June 7 runoff, Fujimori holds roughly 50.1 percent of valid votes to Sanchez's 49.9 percent, according to Peru's national electoral office ONPE. The margin of approximately 43,000 votes exceeds the roughly 39,000 ballots still uncounted, making a reversal mathematically impossible. Official declaration of the winner is expected in mid-July, with inauguration set for July 28.
- Second-round voting held, quick-count gives Sanchez an early lead.
- Official count swings; Fujimori opens an insurmountable lead of about 43,000 votes.
- Sanchez refuses to concede, electoral authority rejects his annulment request.
- Official proclamation of winner expected by mid-July.
- Inauguration day for the next president.
Sanchez refuses to concede
Even before the final tally, Sanchez denounced the process as fraudulent and called on his supporters to protest this weekend. He focused on votes cast abroad, arguing that consulates were improperly allowed to ship physical ballots to Lima instead of transmitting results digitally. Sanchez asked electoral authorities to annul roughly 300,000 foreign votes, a move he claimed would flip the outcome. The National Jury of Elections (JNE) dismissed the request as filed after the deadline and without the required fees.
This grave irregularity amounts to a fraud in progress. Under these violations of the rules, we will not recognize the government of Mrs. Fujimori.
The fujimorista legacy
Keiko Fujimori, 51, is the daughter of Alberto Fujimori, who ruled Peru from 1990 to 2000 and died in 2024 while serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights abuses. After three failed presidential bids, she has cemented her father's political movement, Fujimorismo, and campaigned on restoring order amid rising crime and extortion. Her proposals included reintroducing "faceless judges," a 1990s system condemned for undermining due process. The result caps a long count that briefly showed Sanchez leading based on quick-count projections on election night.
Any refusal to recognize the electoral process could amount to an attempted coup.
Wider regional shift
The election adds to a series of right-wing victories in Latin America, with conservative leaders recently taking office or leading counts in Chile, Argentina, and Colombia. Supporters of the Trump administration have celebrated these outcomes as a trend away from leftist governments in the region.
