Peru Holds Presidential Runoff Between Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sanchez on June 7

Peru will hold a presidential runoff election on June 7 between Keiko Fujimori of the Fuerza Popular party and Roberto Sanchez. Fujimori received more votes than expected in the first round on April 12 and held a lead in most polls until the final week of campaigning.

A Thursday poll by Ipsos showed the race now even. Both candidates have emphasized stability and criticized each other's records during the campaign.

Fujimori, 50, first entered national politics in 1994 when she became first lady after her parents divorced. She has run for president three times before, losing each runoff to lesser-known candidates. Her father, Alberto Fujimori, served as president from 1990 to 2000 and died in 2024.

He was convicted of crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial killings and forced sterilizations. Keiko Fujimori has defended aspects of his government while acknowledging some crimes occurred under his administration.

Fujimori has faced three periods of pre-trial detention in a money-laundering case that a court dismissed last year as flawed. She also challenged the 2021 election results for weeks after her defeat. Her party has supported legislation granting amnesty to police and military personnel for actions during Alberto Fujimori's presidency.

Sanchez has accused her of using impeachment threats to create political instability. "Either we do something now to fix our country, or we repeat the same recipe that already failed," Fujimori said at the May 31 debate. Sanchez responded that repeated impeachment efforts had damaged democracy.

Voters remain divided. Some cite Alberto Fujimori's role in ending an economic crisis and a leftist insurgency. Others point to human rights concerns and question whether Keiko Fujimori can move the country forward.