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Agence France-Presse

Peru’s Keiko Fujimori looked set to face a run-off against a conservative rival after a troubled first-round presidential election on Sunday marred by logistics foul-ups, police raids and allegations of fraud.
First counts and exit polls showed the 50-year-old daughter of disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori ahead in the 35-candidate race, but she was well short of the 50 per cent needed to win outright.
Her nearest rival was far-right Rafael “Porky” Lopez Aliaga – who has vowed to “hunt” Venezuelan migrants and likens himself to a cartoon pig – although he was in a tight race for a run-off spot in June with millions of votes still to count.
Peruvians had hoped Sunday’s election would end the political chaos that has brought eight presidents in a decade and a surge in violent crime.

But election day saw yet more tumult, with missing election materials preventing 100 polling centres from opening on time.
Amid hours-long delays, police and prosecutors raided the headquarters of the National Office of Electoral Processes in an effort to find out who was to blame.
The problems prompted electoral authorities to allow more than 52,000 residents of Peru’s capital, Lima, to vote on Monday.
The extension, announced after counting began Sunday evening, also covers Peruvians registered to vote in Orlando in Florida and Paterson in New Jersey.
Authorities initially reported 63,300 people could vote on Monday but later revised the figure.
Voting is mandatory for Peruvians from the ages of 18 to 70. Failure to do so comes with a fine of up to US$32.
By early Monday morning, official results showed Fujimori with 17 per cent of the vote, and Lopez Aliaga with 16 per cent.

Speaking to supporters, Fujimori stopped short of claiming outright victory but said the results were “a very positive sign for our country”.
“The enemy is the left” she said, adding that “according to these quick-count results, they would not reach the second round”.
Lopez Aliaga had earlier claimed “grave electoral fraud” and called on supporters to take to the streets in protest.
Officials said police also raided a private subcontractor blamed for failing to deliver ballots, boxes and other materials on time.

The missing votes represent a small fraction of the total but could still matter in a close race.
“We have had a logistical problem, and we have done everything humanly possible to reduce it,” said Piero Corvetto, head of the election commission.
“There is no possibility of fraud,” he said. “There is full assurance that the results will faithfully reflect the popular will.”
Violent crime and corruption dominated the campaign.
Peru’s homicide rate has more than doubled in a decade, while reported extortion cases jumped from 3,200 to 26,500 over the same period.
On the eve of the election, front-runner Fujimori told Agence France-Presse that she would “restore order” in her first 100 days by sending the army into prisons, deporting undocumented migrants and strengthening borders.


In an exclusive interview, Fujimori said she would seek a united front with conservative leaders in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia.
“We will ask for special powers,” she said, including to modernise the police force.
“We will expel undocumented citizens,” she added.
This was Fujimori’s fourth bid for the presidency. Her father died in 2024 after serving 16 years in prison for crimes against humanity, directing death squads, bribery and embezzlement.
During the campaign, she has leaned on new-found nostalgia for his strongman rule.
“I believe that time and history are giving my father the place he deserves,” she said.
Incumbent President Jose Maria Balcazar, in office for less than two months, was barred from running.
More than 90 per cent of Peruvians say they have little or no confidence in their government and parliament, according to Latinobarómetro.
Despite the turmoil, Peru remains one of the region’s most stable economies in the region.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Daughter of former strongman is ahead in the race, but logistical issues have forced a one-day voting extension for tens of thousands


Daughter of former strongman is ahead in the race, but logistical issues have forced a one-day voting extension for tens of thousands.


Peru presidential run-off looms as Fujimori leads troubled vote

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Daughter of former strongman is ahead in the race, but logistical issues have forced a one-day voting extension for tens of thousands

Daughter of former strongman is ahead in the race, but logistical issues have forced a one-day voting extension for tens of thousands