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Peru Votes in Record-Size Presidential Field

A fractured race makes a June runoff almost certain.

Overview

  • Peru held general elections Sunday with 35 presidential candidates, and officials planned first results from 7 p.m. local using new counting systems as a June 7 runoff now looks likely with no contender near 50%.
  • Keiko Fujimori led late-campaign polling at about 18.6% according to Ipsos, with Carlos Álvarez near 12% and Rafael López Aliaga around 10%.
  • Voters also chose a revived two-chamber legislature that adds a 60-seat Senate to a 130-seat lower house after a recent constitutional reform.
  • A decade of rapid presidential turnover and party splintering means the next president could face a divided Congress and weak governing power.
  • Public safety drove the campaign as homicides and extortion rose in 2025, prompting hardline pledges such as military-style crackdowns, mass deportations, and tougher prisons.