Keiko Fujimori leads the final count in the second round of Peru’s presidential elections, after the country’s electoral authority completed counting 100% of the votes this Monday, following weeks of analysis of contested votes.
The final count shows conservative Fujimori with 50.135%, or 9,223,396 votes, against 49.865%, or 9,173,755 votes, for leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez.
Fujimori celebrated the end of the lengthy vote count and, in a post on social media, stated that he would “await the announcement from the National Electoral Jury with great humility, prudence and responsibility”.
“We are getting closer to following a path of order and hope for all Peruvians,” said Fujimori on X.
Fujimori, daughter of the late former president Alberto Fujimori — who served a 16-year prison sentence for human rights violations — had already gained an insurmountable lead in the race last week after authorities spent weeks analyzing contested ballots from the June 7 runoff.
Sánchez’s rhetoric contesting the results also intensified, with the left-wing senator stating that he will not recognize a Fujimori government and making accusations, without presenting evidence, of electoral fraud in favor of Fujimori.
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Sánchez led marches in Lima to “defend the vote” and called on his followers to hold more protests in the coming days, which could prolong the country’s political crisis, which has led to a continuous succession of presidents over the past decade.
Fujimori, who is expected to take power on July 28, will be the country’s tenth president since 2016.
Peru’s National Electoral Jury (JNE) is expected to officially announce the winner on July 3, and Sánchez said he will file a legal appeal in the coming days to prevent the official proclamation.
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Fujimori, 51, said last week that he aims to unite a country “divided in two” and pledged to reduce crime and combat the deep inequality that prevails across the Andean nation.
Fujimori’s victory comes after three unsuccessful attempts to win the presidency, consolidating a shift to the right in Latin America and marking the return of one of Peru’s most dominant and polarizing political dynasties in the last three decades.
