Peru Votes in Decisive Presidential Runoff to Choose Next Head of State

(MENAFN) Voters across Peru headed to the polls on Sunday to take part in a closely watched presidential runoff that will determine the country’s next leader, with the victor set to become the nation’s ninth president in just ten years.

The final contest pits Keiko Fujimori against Roberto Sanchez after neither candidate secured enough support to win outright in the first round held in April. According to reports, Fujimori’s conservative Popular Force party received 17% of the vote, while Sanchez, representing the left-leaning Together for Peru movement, captured 12% in a crowded field of more than two dozen candidates.

Fujimori, 51, enters the runoff as the leading contender. The daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who led the country between 1990 and 2000, she has centered her campaign on strengthening public security. Her platform emphasizes combating rising crime and extortion, encouraging foreign investment, and reducing bureaucratic obstacles for businesses.

Sanchez, 57, previously served as a government minister under former President Pedro Castillo, who is currently imprisoned. His campaign has focused on expanding government control over the nation’s natural resources, introducing a tax targeting the wealthiest Peruvians, and pursuing constitutional reforms through a rewrite of the country’s governing charter.

The candidate who emerges victorious from Sunday’s vote is scheduled to take office on July 28 and will serve a five-year presidential term.

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