Politics News
Keiko Fujimori wins Peru's presidency by 49,641 votes as Sánchez refuses to concede
Keiko Fujimori has won Peru's presidency, the vote count confirmed on Monday, June 29, three weeks after the June 7 runoff. MercoPress reported that the electoral office ONPE finished counting 100% of tally sheets, giving Fujimori of Fuerza Popular 50.14% of valid votes against 49.87% for Roberto Sánchez of Juntos por el Perú, a margin of 49,641 ballots. Sánchez won inside Peru by about 32,000 votes, but Fujimori's lead of about 81,000 among Peruvians abroad decided the race.
The JNE elections board rejected Juntos por el Perú's appeals to annul more than 2,300 overseas polling tables. Sánchez has not accepted defeat and alleges fraud without presenting evidence. The board's formal proclamation was set for July 3, and the inauguration for July 28.
“We receive this result knowing that our country is practically divided.” — Keiko Fujimori, via MercoPress
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said she is the first woman ever popularly elected to Peru's presidency, winning by fewer than 50,000 votes out of more than 18 million cast, and that she vowed to restore “order and hope.” India's Free Press Journal recalled her failed bids in 2011, 2016 and 2021 and noted that Peru has had eight presidents since 2016.
How each outlet framed it
- MercoPress — the count, the rejected appeals, and Sánchez's protests and planned injunction.
- South China Morning Post — the return of the Fujimori dynasty, with the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori in the palace.
- Free Press Journal — a profile: degrees from Boston University and Columbia, and her years as first lady from 1994 to 2000.
What we don't know yet: Whether Sánchez's planned appeal to the inter-American human rights system will go anywhere.