Keiko Fujimori, the daughter and political heir of former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), is the candidate best positioned to once again contest the Presidency of Peru in a second electoral round after this Sunday’s elections, against a rival who will be defined vote by vote in a long and slow scrutiny between six candidates who appear tied in the exit polls.
It is the fourth time in a row that the candidate and leader of the Fujimori party Fuerza Popular will be in the second round, after having lost in that instance on the three previous occasions to Ollanta Humala (2011), Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016) and Pedro Castillo (2021).
The six candidates who, according to exit polls, have a chance of facing Fujimori in the second round are: the leftist Roberto Sánchez (Together for Peru), the far-right Rafael López Aliaga (Popular Renewal), the centrist Jorge Nieto (Good Government Party), the populist Ricardo Belmont (Obras) and the right-wing comedian Carlos Álvarez (Country for All).
According to the survey by the Datum pollster, which was carried out with 44,596 interviews and a margin of error of 3%, Fujimori obtained 16.5% of the votes, followed by López Aliaga, with 12.8%; Nieto, with 11.6%; and Belmont with 10.5%.
In turn, with a sample of 18,144 respondents and a margin of error of 3%, the Ipsos company indicated, for its part, that Fujimori received 16.6% of the votes, the leftist Roberto Sánchez, 12.1%; Belmont, 11.8%; López Aliaga, 11%; and Nieto, 10.7%.
The publication of the quick counts has been suspended due to the extension of the vote until this Monday in 13 locations that could not open due to lack of electoral material, while the scrutiny is progressing very slowly and, at 20%, it did not show conclusive results by only showing votes from urban centers, with López Aliaga in the lead with 20.7%.
Given the tight margin between these six candidates, the definition of Fujimori’s opponent in the second round may take several years to be known, due to the fact that the votes that must come from rural areas and abroad, with more than 1.2 million voters outside the country, at the same time that the electoral juries resolve the contested records.
Election day was marked by long delays in the opening of important voting centers in the capital Lima, due to the lack of electoral material, which meant that some 52,000 voters were unable to vote, a situation that motivated the National Elections Jury (JNE) to authorize, in an unprecedented decision, that voting in those locations take place this Monday.
The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), in charge of organizing the elections, attributed the problem to the company hired for the delivery, which in some points arrived five hours after the voting start time.
According to the official report, 99.8% of the polling stations nationwide were installed.
The ultras complain, but…
Despite the decision to extend the vote to Monday, the far-right candidate López Aliaga (Renovación Popular) criminally sued the head of the ONPE, Piero Corvetto, for omission of duties and asked the Prosecutor’s Office to order his immediate arrest, considering that “it is no coincidence” that schools were left without opening in areas where, according to him, the majority vote for Renovación Popular.
However, both the electoral observation missions of the European Union (EU) and the Organization of American States (OAS) reported an election day without irregularities and with a large influx of voters, despite the problems in opening certain voting locations.
The second round of the 2026 Presidential Elections will be held on Sunday, June 7, 2026 throughout the country. On this day, citizens will once again go to the polls to elect the next president of the Republic.
