Keiko Fujimori narrowly wins Peru presidential runoff

Keiko Fujimori secured a narrow victory in Peru's second‑round presidential election, obtaining 50.12% of the vote against left‑wing challenger Roberto Sánchez's 49.88%. With 99.86% of the ballot boxes counted, she led by about 44,000 votes (0.24 percentage points). Sánchez rejected the result, claiming serious electoral irregularities, especially concerning the roughly 300,000 overseas votes that favored the right‑wing candidate, but the National Jury of Elections dismissed his request to annul those votes.

The win ends a decade of chronic political instability in Peru, during which nine presidents have served since 2016 and successive congressional‑presidential confrontations have led to multiple impeachments and protests. Fujimori will succeed interim president José María Balcázar on 28 July, inheriting a deeply polarized nation and an uncertain parliamentary majority.