Keiko Fujimori, candidate of the rightwing Fuerza Popular party and daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, emerged in first place in the first round of Peru’s 2026 general elections, with around 17 percent of valid votes according to rapid counts and preliminary official tallies by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE). As no candidate surpassed the 50 percent threshold required for an outright victory, the country is heading toward a runoff on 7 June between Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez of Juntos por el Perú, who secured roughly 12 percent of the vote and narrowly outpaced other rightwing and centrist contenders in a highly fragmented and polarized party system.

The electoral process was marked by significant logistical failures that led authorities to extend voting exceptionally into Monday, 13 April, for tens of thousands of citizens who were unable to cast a ballot on Sunday. Problems in the installation of more than 200 polling stations and delays in the distribution of electoral materials prevented an estimated 60,000 voters in Lima and abroad from participating, fueling criticism of the process’s integrity and providing fodder for unsubstantiated allegations of fraud by several candidates. Against a backdrop of deep institutional mistrust, rising crime, and a decade of recurrent presidential turnover, the firstround results leave open the question of who will become the country’s ninth president in ten years and foreshadow a highly polarized second round between Fujimori and Sánchez.