Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori has been declared the winner of Peru’s presidential race following a weeks-long vote count that ended with a razor-thin margin of victory in the deeply polarized South American country.
Victory Margin
The country’s electoral office confirmed that Fujimori, the eldest daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, had won the June 7 runoff vote in what was her fourth bid for the presidency after unsuccessful campaigns in 2011, 2016 and 2021.
Fujimori thanked voters for their support and said Peru was entering “a new chapter.” She pledged to lead the transition with “responsibility, humility and a profound sense of duty.”
Results and Reaction
The announcement comes days after Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes released a final vote count showing her Popular Force party edged leftist candidate Roberto Sánchez of Together for Peru by just 49,641 ballots out of about 18 million, taking 50.13% of valid votes to Sánchez’s 49.86%.
Sánchez has previously said he will not recognize Fujimori’s government. Following the release of the final vote count, he alleged irregularities in the overseas vote and said he would appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
