LIMA, Peru (AP) 鈥� A razor-thin left Peruvians without a clear winner Monday, with conservative politician and nationalist congressman Roberto S谩nchez virtually tied.
With 94% of ballots tallied, the figures showed S谩nchez earned 8.79 million votes, or 50.015%, while Fujimori received 8.78 million votes, or 49.985%.
The winner will be the South American country’s ninth president in 10 years. , daughter of a disgraced former president, and S谩nchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, were on the runoff鈥檚 ballot after beating 33 other candidates in the vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support. took more than a month to declare them winners of that contest.
Roberto Burneo, the country鈥檚 chief electoral authority, asked voters and political organizations to 鈥渁ct with democratic responsibility鈥� as the tallying process continues. He said the outcome will be available within 30 days.
In the capital, , voter turnout throughout the day appeared lower than in the previous contest, with practically no lines in many voting centers, despite voting being mandatory. The slow counting pace is due to a law that requires each ballot and each tally sheet, which summarizes the votes from each polling station, to be taken to one of more than 100 offices to be tallied. Additionally, ballots and tally sheets must arrive in Lima from 63 countries to be counted.
Many voters associate candidates with controversial politicians
Crime, was the overarching concern for voters. A 2025 national survey carried out by the state鈥檚 National Institute of Statistics and Informatics found that 84% of respondents in urban areas feared becoming victims of a crime in the following 12 months.
Experts attribute the increasing power of organized crime in Peru to the profits that decades-old criminal groups are earning from .
And the candidates’ crime-fighting proposals were not enough to make inroads with voters, many of whom associate each aspiring president with controversial Peruvian politicians.
Fujimori is linked to the authoritarian and corrupt legacy of the government of her late father, , in the 1990s. She became Peru’s first lady in 1994 after her parents鈥� separation.
S谩nchez is one of the closest allies of , whom many perceive as corrupt and chaotic. Castillo鈥檚 16-month term saw more than 70 Cabinet changes.
Official results from April鈥檚 election showed Fujimori received 17% of the vote and S谩nchez got 12%. A nationwide poll conducted a week before the election by the firm Ipsos found that similar shares of voters were supporting the candidates, with about 3 in 10 saying they were undecided.
Food vendor Magali Quiquia said she cast a blank ballot because she did not find either candidate convincing,
鈥淔ive years ago, I was disappointed by Castillo with his corruption, and … Roberto S谩nchez is the same,” Quiquia, 44, said. She added that she believes 鈥淔ujimori hasn鈥檛 done anything either鈥� despite her party having multiple seats in Congress.
Voting is mandatory for Peruvians aged 18 to 70. Failure to do so results in a fine of up to $32.
More than 27 million people are registered. Of those, about 1.2 million were expected to cast ballots from abroad, mainly in the United States and .
Proposals include prison labor and a police purge
For most of her fourth presidential campaign, Fujimori promised to crack down on crime. Her proposals included implementing technology to track extortion, militarizing borders and increasing the presence of police and military personnel in high-risk areas. Fujimori, 51, also said that prisoners will be required to work and 鈥渞epay society鈥� should she win.
In the only debate before the runoff, Fujimori defended her father鈥檚 government and promised to defeat crime just as he defeated the , a violent extremist group. After the vote counting began, she told her supporters to remain calm.
Fujimori on Monday told her more than 100 legal representatives throughout Peru that they would have to 鈥渇ight鈥� and 鈥渁nalyze鈥� any ballot under dispute, but that she would respect 鈥渢he results, whoever the winner may be.鈥� She said results show a great division among voters, adding that party leaders must 鈥渂uild bridges鈥� after the election is over.
Meanwhile, S谩nchez, a former minister now popular with rural voters, during the campaign pledged to combat corruption within the police force and promote reforms that would enable the military to support security efforts. The 57-year-old, who wears , told debate viewers that he would be open to 鈥渁ll options to generate jobs and progress鈥� but also emphasized his support for Chinese investments.
He appeared on a Lima hotel balcony on Sunday and thanked the Indigenous communities, farmers and other supporters 鈥渨ho have decided to come and reclaim the government for the people.鈥�
The runoff鈥檚 winner will be sworn in to a five-year term on July 28.
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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
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