With 99.38% of the votes counted, Keiko Fujimori advances to the presidency of Peru while Sánchez calls for protests

The dispute for the presidency of Peru saw right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori strengthen her position this Thursday (18). On the other hand, Roberto Sánchez, his left-wing opponent, called for popular demonstrations, denouncing supposed flaws in the electoral system.

The vote counting process continues this Thursday, almost two weeks since the election. The presidential race remains an extremely tight result, with a small portion of just 0.6% of the votes still to be counted.

In his fourth attempt to assume leadership of the country, Fujimori held a lead of 39,115 votes. The investigation has kept Peruvians in a state of apprehension since the second round, held on June 7th.

Data released by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) at 12:30 pm (Brasília time) this Thursday, indicated that the heir of former president Alberto Fujimori registered 50.107% of the valid votes. Sánchez, in turn, had 49.893%, with the count reaching 99.38% of the ballot boxes.

Approximately 140,000 questioned votes remained awaiting definition this Thursday morning. Of these, around 60% came from the capital Lima and Peruvian citizens residing outside the country, regions where candidate Fujimori historically obtains greater support.

“These locations are traditionally favorable to Keiko Fujimori,” said Gonzalo Márquez, director of Caleidos, a consultancy specializing in data. “Thus, it is unlikely that there will be a change in the final panorama of votes”, added the expert.

If confirmed, Fujimori would be the first woman to be directly elected president of Peru, marking a historic feat. However, its electoral trajectory includes three defeats in previous second rounds, demonstrating constant polarization and fierce disputes. The most recent occurred in 2021, when she was surpassed by the leftist Pedro Castillo by a minimum difference of 44,200 votes, a scenario that highlights the usual tension in Peruvian elections.

Amid the lengthy analysis and recount of the questioned votes, Sánchez’s party, Juntos por el Perú, declared this week that it will not accept the final verdict of the presidential election, citing a “lack of transparency”. The party also organized demonstrations in the capital Lima for Friday (19), in addition to filing legal actions with the aim of canceling votes in favor of Fujimori.

On the other hand, the electoral observation missions of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU) attested, in separate statements, that the voting process took place normally. Both institutions called on candidates and the nation to wait for the official results to be announced.