Overview
- Keiko Fujimori, who led Sunday’s exit polls with about 16%, is on track to face a June 7 runoff against a rival still bunched in a near tie with three others.
- The electoral authority extended voting by one hour after irregularities, which officials said kept more than 60,000 people from casting ballots and prompted a police search of the election headquarters.
- Peruvians also elected a new Congress that includes a reinstated Senate after an electoral reform, and analysts expect a fragmented chamber that will force backroom deals.
- The campaign turned on public security as officials recorded 529 murders from January to March, and Fujimori pledged military support for prisons and border control along with closer ties to the United States.
- The vote comes after years of churn and mistrust, with nine presidents in a decade, investigations into roughly half of lawmakers for corruption, and rights groups documenting dozens of protester deaths under earlier crackdowns.