Peru’s presidential election is heading toward a runoff between right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori and ultraconservative Rafael López Aliaga after a chaotic day of voting marred by widespread logistical delays. According to CNN en Español, the runoff election is officially scheduled for June 7. While early projections placed Fujimori in the lead, the new source El Mostrador reports that the race remains highly competitive, with centrist candidate Jorge Nieto still potentially challenging López Aliaga for the second-place spot.
A quick count by the polling firm Datum places Fujimori, leader of Fuerza Popular, in the lead with 16.8% of valid votes. López Aliaga, of Renovación Popular, follows with 12.9%, narrowly edging out centrist contender Jorge Nieto at 11.4%. Official figures from the national electoral office, with 40% of the vote now tallied, show Fujimori at 17.1%, López Aliaga at 16.4%, and Nieto at 13.8%, according to El Mostrador. The highly fragmented nature of the results means no candidate came close to the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff.
Election day logistics unravel
The election was disrupted by severe delays in opening polling stations across Lima. The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) blamed a delivery contractor for failing to distribute materials on time, leaving approximately 52,000 citizens unable to cast their ballots on Sunday. In an unprecedented move, the National Jury of Elections (JNE) authorized voting to continue on Monday in thirteen specific locations.
López Aliaga reacted aggressively to the delays, filing a criminal complaint against ONPE chief Piero Corvetto. He alleged, without providing evidence, that the delays were intentional to disenfranchise his supporters and demanded the official’s immediate arrest. El Mostrador noted that López Aliaga, an admirer of Donald Trump, previously served as the mayor of Lima before resigning last year to pursue this presidential bid. Despite these accusations, international observers from the European Union and the Organization of American States (OEA) reported that the election proceeded without structural irregularities.
Fujimori, the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, framed the results as a victory against political opponents. If the current projections hold, she will enter a runoff for the fourth consecutive election cycle; she previously lost in the second round to Ollanta Humala in 2011, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2016, and Pedro Castillo in 2021. "The results of the quick count are a very positive sign for the country because the enemy is the left, and according to the results, they would not be in the second round," Fujimori said. "Peru cannot take any more improvisation."
