Peru’s presidential runoff remained unsettled on June 15 as electoral officials continued to sift through contested ballots, with right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holding a narrow lead over leftist Roberto Sanchez.
According to figures from Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes, 98.59% of votes have been tallied. Fujimori reached 50.051% of the vote, while Sanchez had 49.949%, leaving a margin of a little more than 18,300 votes between them.
The electoral board began a formal review of disputed ballots from the June 7 runoff last Thursday, and authorities cautioned that the official result could take days or even weeks to be declared in what has become one of the closest presidential contests in Peru’s history.
Sanchez spent the weekend in the Andean region of Cusco, identified as one of his strongholds, where he met with supporters and expressed "suspicions" regarding aspects of the recount. Last week he requested that roughly 400,000 overseas votes be invalidated, citing problems in their transport; election authorities rejected that petition.
In the capital, supporters of Sanchez have staged demonstrations against the electoral authority after calls from the candidate to "defend the people’s vote." Those marches drew hundreds and were reported to be peaceful.
International observation missions from the Organization of American States and the European Union, speaking in separate press briefings following the runoff, said the voting process had proceeded normally and urged all parties to await the official tally given the narrow margin.
The contest has also influenced financial markets. Sanchez’s surge raised concerns among private investors in the run-up to the runoff, and a market selloff preceded the vote amid trader worries that his policies could threaten economic stability. As Fujimori edged ahead, markets rebounded last week, with traders in stock and foreign exchange markets noting the shift.
Sanchez is running with support from former leftist President Pedro Castillo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after attempting to dissolve Congress and seize broad powers in late 2022.
Election authorities continue their review of contested ballots, while political leaders, observers and market participants watch closely. With the margin between the two candidates extremely tight and tens of thousands of votes still under scrutiny, Peru remains in a period of electoral uncertainty as the official count proceeds.