Keiko Fujimori, virtual winner of the elections in Peru

BarcelonaAnother victory for the right in Latin America, now in Peru. Keiko Fujimori has managed to surpass in the weeks-long count the left-wing candidate, Roberto Sánchez, by more votes than those remaining to be counted, and thus proclaims herself the winner of the elections. Although the Peruvian electoral office has not yet officially declared any winner, the political heir of dictator Alberto Fujimori has a clear path to power after the same body has ruled out indications of manipulation in the elections and has dismissed Sánchez's request to annul thousands of votes cast abroad.

With 99.8% of the scrutiny completed, Fujimori has 50.11% of the valid votes compared to Sánchez's 49.88%, with a very tight margin of 43,386 votes between them that can no longer be reversed, as approximately 26,200 votes remain to be counted between the two candidates. Thus, in her fourth attempt, after having run in the 2011, 2016, and 2021 elections, Fujimori finally achieves the presidency.

The count in the country has been dizzying: Fujimori started leading the scrutiny, but when 93% of the votes were counted, Sánchez surpassed his rival and took the lead. The difference between the two widened, but always within very tight percentages of 50.1% for one candidate and 49.9% for the other, or even narrower margins. With 95% of the ballots counted, the votes remaining to be counted within Peru mostly corresponded to rural areas, more favorable to Sánchez. But the influx of overseas votes turned the tables again, and Fujimori once again took the lead in the count.

Without providing any proof, the left-wing candidate denounced this week that fraud was being committed in the counting of overseas votes, mostly favorable to Fujimori, and asked for them to be annulled. The National Electoral Processes Office (ONPE) of Peru, however, dismissed the request. Faced with this situation, Sánchez has warned that he will not recognize the results, adding uncertainty in a country that has been particularly politically unstable in recent years: Peru has had eight presidents in the last decade.

The Fujimoris, in power 26 years later

The victory of the right-wing candidate marks the return to power of the Fujimori family 26 years after the dictator Alberto Fujimori, hounded by a corruption scandal, fled the country. The former president, who ended up being a dictator, was convicted of crimes against humanity, but this has not been an impediment for his daughter and political heir to have claimed his figure and legacy during the campaign.

With Fujimori coming to power, his triumph adds to the ever-growing list of Latin American countries that have turned to the right in recent months and years. Despite being a political space much more rooted in institutions than the far-right formations that have won in other countries like El Salvador, Argentina or, just a few days ago, Colombia, ideologically Fujimori aligns with the majority of the positions of the leaders of this ultraconservative wave.