Keiko Fujimori elected president of Peru after 22-day count, defeating Roberto Sánchez by 49,600 votes

Peru's long electoral count ended on June 29 when the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) declared conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori the winner of the presidential runoff. She secured 50.135% of valid votes (9,223,396 ballots), beating leftist Roberto Sánchez, who garnered 49.865% (9,173,755 ballots). The difference was about 49,600 votes out of more than 18 million cast, making it one of the closest presidential races in recent Latin American history.

The runoff took place on June 7, but the tally dragged on for 22 days because of legal challenges and the slow arrival of ballots from abroad. Sánchez held a short-lived lead in the domestic count before Fujimori overtook him thanks to a decisive advantage among overseas Peruvians. The final figures withstood all opposition appeals. Fujimori will receive her credentials on July 15 and be sworn in on July 28, Peru's National Day, exactly 36 years after her father Alberto Fujimori became president.

The weight of the Fujimori name

At 51, Keiko Fujimori is no stranger to presidential campaigns. She lost runoffs in 2011, 2016, and 2021 by similarly narrow margins. The daughter of Alberto Fujimori, who ruled Peru from 1990 to 2000 with an iron fist before being convicted of corruption and crimes against humanity, she entered public life at 19 as first lady after her parents' divorce. Educated in the United States, she later served in Congress and built Fuerza Popular into a political heavyweight. This was her first race without her father, who died in 2024.

“For 25 years, Peru has been governed by anti‑Fujimorist governments.”

Her connection to Alberto Fujimori inspires both fierce loyalty and deep animosity. Political scientist Jorge Aragon described the family name as a well‑positioned brand. Fujimori ran on a platform of "order," warning that the left leads to poverty and chaos. Her detractors, however, say her party's tactics in Congress have fueled the chronic instability that saw Peru cycle through eight presidents in the past decade.

“It is a well‑positioned 'brand,' whether one likes it or not.”

A contested mandate and a polarized nation

Roberto Sánchez immediately rejected the outcome, alleging fraud in the overseas vote and calling for nationwide demonstrations. He stated he would not recognize Fujimori's government. The electoral authority declared the count final, but the dispute deepened divisions in a country where no single force will command a majority in the incoming bicameral congress. Analysts cited by RFI warn that the new administration could mix neoliberal economics with authoritarian governance and clientelist politics. A broad opposition alliance, including Sánchez's camp, has pledged democratic resistance.

Speaking from her home after the results, Fujimori adopted a conciliatory tone.

“The doors of dialogue are always open.”

First priorities: security and El Niño

The president‑elect identified her immediate tasks when she takes office on July 28. "First, I will restore order; second, take preventive measures for the El Niño phenomenon," she told reporters, referring to the climate pattern expected to bring severe weather to Peru in the coming months. She also addressed young Peruvians, urging them never to give up. Her victory returns the Fujimori name to Peru's highest office after three failed attempts, in a nation still wrestling with the legacy of the 1990s.