Peru's Crucial Election
Peruvians Vote in Pivotal Presidential Runoff Between Conservative Fujimori and Nationalist Sánchez
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Peruvians headed to the polls on June 7, 2026, to choose their next president in a tense runoff between conservative Keiko Fujimori and leftist nationalist Roberto Sánchez Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The race is too close to call — an Ipsos poll from June 4 showed the contest had tightened into a statistical tie Al Jazeera. Official results could take days or weeks to arrive.
The vote comes after a decade of extraordinary chaos. Peru has cycled through nine presidents in ten years The Guardian. With 27.3 million registered voters and turnout expected to exceed the first round's 73.8%, the stakes are enormous Wikipedia.
A Record Field Narrows to Two Sharply Divided Candidates
The April 12 first round drew a record 35 presidential candidates — the most in Peruvian history DPAM. Fujimori came out on top with 17.19% of the vote, or about 2.88 million ballots. Sánchez finished second with 12.04%, roughly 2.02 million votes. No one else came close Wikipedia.
Fujimori leads the conservative Fuerza Popular party. This is her fourth straight runoff — she lost in 2011, 2016, and 2021. Sánchez is a nationalist lawmaker who served as Foreign Trade Minister under the jailed ex-president Pedro Castillo. Critics call him "Castillo 2.0" OPB.
Crime and Insecurity Drive Voters More Than Economics
Security has become the defining issue of this election. Transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua have expanded rapidly across Peru. ACLED recorded over 400 protests against extortion and crime since 2024 ACLED. Sánchez has proposed a "purge" of the national police to rebuild its investigative capacity.
Fujimori has campaigned on "law and order," holding a major rally in Huacho on June 2 AFP. Tiziano Breda, a senior analyst at ACLED, said "security is the defining feature" of this race. Many rural voters back Sánchez, while Lima — the capital — leans toward Fujimori Reuters.
Fujimori's Family Shadow Looms Over the Vote
Keiko is the daughter of Alberto Fujimori, the former president who died in 2023 after serving time for human rights abuses and corruption. A large slice of the electorate votes against her purely on that basis. Eduardo Salazar, a hospital worker, told reporters he has voted for "anyone but Keiko" in every election since he turned 18 Al Jazeera.
Political scientist Paula Távara warned that if Fujimori wins, "the reality will be that she will have her hands on the levers of power and will use them in an authoritarian way" OPB. Fujimori's camp pushes back, saying she has moderated her platform and promises stability above all else.
Fragmented Congress Will Limit Whoever Wins
Peru also voted in April for a newly reinstated bicameral legislature — the first Senate since 1990. Voters elected 130 deputies and 60 senators Wikipedia. Early results show a badly fragmented Congress. Fujimori's Fuerza Popular holds the largest bloc but no majority Itau.
That fragmentation matters. If Sánchez wins, a Fuerza Popular-led Senate could threaten his presidency almost immediately Latin America Risk Report. If Fujimori wins, analysts warn rural protests could follow. Either way, Peru's next president faces long odds of stable governance, with 71% of citizens saying they feel "unrepresented" by the political system Al Jazeera.
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