Conservative Keiko Fujimori has closed the gap to leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez as the counting of votes abroad progresses, and the dispute for the Presidency of Peru remains fierce. On the afternoon of this Wednesday (10), the difference between them was 7 thousand votes.
With 97.8% of the ballots counted, Roberto Sánchez had 50.020% of the votes while Keiko Fujimori had 49.980%, according to Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE). Votes have been being counted since Sunday, when the second round was held, and the final result could still take weeks to be announced.
Fujimori led in exit polls and early counting, but Sánchez gained ground as votes from Peru’s rural regions were counted. On Tuesday night, the left candidate had a 40,000 vote lead.
This difference narrowed again with the verification of minutes abroad, which favors the conservative. Among Peruvian voters living in other countries, Keiko Fujimori appeared with 63.368% of the votes against 36.632% for Roberto Sánchez with 83.6% of the ballots counted.
In Peruvian elections, voting results abroad are not sent directly by consulates. The minutes must be physically transported in a diplomatic bag to the offices in Lima. Therefore, the counting of these votes takes time to begin.
In the last election, in 2021, Fujimori obtained a 100,000 vote advantage abroad. Even so, she was defeated by Pedro Castillo, who had a large majority in rural areas. .
Now, however, the conservative’s performance abroad appears slightly below what was recorded five years ago. In the United States, for example, Keiko Fujimori obtained 81% of the votes in the last election. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had 76,559% with 95.8% of the country’s minutes accounted for.
Likewise, Roberto Sánchez’s Together for Peru did not achieve the advantage it had hoped for in some rural areas of the country, where the left usually has the advantage. And the scenario remains undefined.
Fujimori told journalists on Tuesday that “there is a lot of hope”, especially in the votes abroad and in the minutes set aside for review — most were from the Lima metropolitan region, which tends to favor the conservative. “I think it would be premature to declare a winner,” he declared.
Sánchez’s party also defended , highlighting that the pending polls in rural areas represented a chance of victory for the left-wing candidate.
Candidates for President of Peru
Roberto Sánchez defends the reform of the Constitution, the creation of extraordinary taxes on profits, a tax on large fortunes and changes to mining concessions, in addition to a popular platform among voters in rural areas of the country.
He defines himself as the “Castilista presidential candidate” – he seeks to rehabilitate and release former president Pedro Castillo, who governed the country between 2021 and 2022 and is currently serving.
Sánchez faces Keiko Fujimori, who has been a constant presence in the Peruvian elections: this is the fourth time she has tried to become President.
Keiko has been banking on the crime-fighting legacy of her father, Alberto Fujimori, the former president of Peru who was imprisoned for human rights violations related to massacres during his government.
The next president is expected to take office on July 28.
*With Reuters and CNN Spanish
