LIMA — Right-wing presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori has stretched her slim lead over leftist challenger Roberto Sanchez in Peru’s hotly disputed presidential contest, as the slow review of contested ballots continued Monday.
Fujimori reclaimed the top spot in the race midway through last week, largely on the strength of votes cast abroad. As of Monday, she held 50.051% of the vote compared to Sanchez’s 49.949% — a margin of just over 18,300 votes.
According to Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes, 98.59% of all votes have now been counted.
Election officials began examining disputed ballots from the June 7 runoff last Thursday. Authorities say the final certified results may not come for days or even weeks, making this one of the tightest presidential races in Peru’s history.
Over the weekend, Sanchez traveled to the Andean region of Cusco — a stronghold of his support — where he met with backers and expressed that he had “suspicions” about the ongoing vote review.
Last week, Sanchez asked authorities to throw out roughly 400,000 overseas ballots, claiming there were irregularities in how they were transported. Election officials rejected that request.
Supporters of Sanchez have taken to the streets in the capital Lima in recent days, responding to his call to “defend the people’s vote.” The protests, which drew hundreds of demonstrators, remained peaceful.
Following the runoff, both the Organization of American States and the European Union sent election observation missions to Peru. In separate press conferences, both groups said the voting had proceeded normally and encouraged the country to wait for the official results given how close the race is.
Sanchez is running with the backing of former leftist President Pedro Castillo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after attempting to dissolve Congress and seize expanded powers in late 2022. Sanchez’s rise has made private investors uneasy.
Financial markets bounced back last week as Fujimori moved ahead in the count. Prior to the election, markets had sold off amid concerns that a Sanchez victory could threaten economic stability, according to traders in stock and foreign exchange markets.
