Conservative politician Keiko Fujimori was officially declared the winner of Peru’s presidential runoff election this past Friday. The 51-year-old candidate, who is the daughter of the late former president Alberto Fujimori, successfully secured the presidency on her fourth attempt. Upon taking office later this month, she will become the ninth person to lead the country in the last decade.
The official certification of her victory followed a full tally of ballots released by election authorities earlier in the week. With 100% of the votes counted, Fujimori received 9,223,000 votes, accounting for 50.135% of the total. Her opponent, nationalist congressman Roberto Sánchez, garnered more than 9,173,000 votes, representing 49.865% of the electorate. Both candidates had advanced to the 7 June runoff after emerging from a field of 33 other contenders in the April initial vote.
A primary driver for voters during this election cycle was the surge in national crime, particularly the rise of extortion and violence linked to organized criminal gangs. Throughout her campaign, Fujimori pledged to tackle these security issues with an iron fist. Her platform resonated with a public deeply concerned about safety and stability.
The president-elect’s father, the late Alberto Fujimori, remains a polarizing figure in Peruvian history. While his administration in the 1990s is credited with defeating the Shining Path extremist rebel group, his tenure was also marked by an authoritarian shift. In 2009, the elder Fujimori was convicted of human rights abuses related to the anti-rebel campaign and faced additional convictions for corruption charges in later years.
This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates.
