Peru's Right-Wing Keiko Fujimori Wins Presidential Election by 0.27 Percentage Points in 4th Attempt

Following the official completion of the vote count for Peru's presidential runoff election on the 29th (local time), right-wing Popular Force candidate Keiko Fujimori (51) has been declared the winner after a neck-and-neck race.

According to the website of Peru's National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), with 100% of the votes counted from the runoff held on the 7th, Fujimori secured 50.135% of the vote, edging out left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez of the Together for Peru party, who received 49.865%.

The margin between the two candidates was a mere 0.27 percentage points, or approximately 49,000 votes.

According to Reuters, immediately after the count was completed, Fujimori stated on X (formerly Twitter), "I will await the announcement from the National Jury of Elections (JNE) with humility, caution, and a sense of responsibility."

She added, "We are getting closer and closer to a path of order and hope for all Peruvians."

Fujimori is the daughter of the late former President Alberto Fujimori, who served from 1990 to 2000 and spent 16 years in prison for human rights abuses and corruption. She is considered the heir to her father's political legacy.

She previously ran for president in 2011, 2016, and 2021, but lost to her opponents by narrow margins each time.

With this result, Fujimori is set to become the first woman to be elected president in Peru's history.

In this election, she garnered strong support from conservative voters and the business community by promoting market-friendly economic policies, including robust public safety measures, the promotion of private investment, and the reduction of bureaucracy.

In particular, she campaigned on hardline pledges such as building El Salvador-style mega-prisons and the immediate deportation of illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes.

Sanchez, who remained a close contender until the very end, served as Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism under the government of former President Pedro Castillo, who defeated Fujimori in the presidential election five years ago.

In this race, he campaigned on constitutional reform for the fair redistribution of wealth, an expanded role for the state in the economy, and increased social spending.

The two candidates were locked in a tight race from the first round of voting.

Fujimori and Sanchez, who advanced to the runoff as the first and second-place finishers respectively, remained in a dead heat, with the lead shifting back and forth as the count progressed.

When the overseas vote, a late-stage variable, was counted and Fujimori took the lead, Sanchez alleged irregularities in the overseas ballots and called for protests against the results.

Reuters reported that he stated he would not accept Fujimori's victory and plans to file legal challenges to block the JNE from making the official announcement of the winner, which is scheduled for the 3rd of next month.

However, international observer missions, including the Organization of American States (OAS), have previously announced that the election was conducted normally.

Bloomberg reported that the narrow margin of victory could further exacerbate political polarization in Peru.

Peru has experienced severe political instability since 2016, with nine presidents having held office during that period. Fujimori will be the 10th president in the last 10 years.

Nevertheless, Bloomberg projected that she would secure a relatively more stable mandate to govern compared to her predecessors, who were forced to resign or were impeached.

This is because her party, Popular Force, secured 22 out of 60 seats in the Senate in the general election held in April, which would allow her to block initial attempts at impeachment.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.