Leftist Roberto Sanchez pulled ahead in Peru’s presidential runoff on Monday (June 8, 2026), overtaking conservative Keiko Fujimori for the first time since counting began.

With 18 million ballots counted from Sunday’s (June 7, 2026) poll, Mr. Sanchez was ahead by about 15,000 votes, and the race was still much too close to call.

Many voters had hoped the election would draw a line under years of political chaos that has seen a string of presidents jailed, deposed and impeached.

Whoever is elected will be the ninth President in a decade.

But the result shows the Andean nation remains deeply divided between the populous coast and the more rural, Indigenous south.

Mr. Fujimori, 51, is hoping to ride a wave of support for right-wing candidates who have won recent elections in Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador with a tough-on-crime message.

Mr. Sanchez said Monday (June 8, 2026) he was “optimistic” about the outcome but that it would be necessary to wait for 100 percent of the votes to be counted.

Fed-up Peruvians braced for days and perhaps weeks of uncertainty. The first round presidential election result took more than 30 days to complete.

“Whatever the results may be, I believe they must be respected,” said 40-year-old lawyer Andre Cossio.

“It is important — even in cases where votes are contested — that all possible legal remedies be exhausted.”

With 94% of voting centers reporting, Mr. Sanchez was on 50.04% and Fujimori on 49.957%.

Before declaring a winner, election officials will have to examine results from districts where the tally has been challenged — about 400,000 votes at stake, a process that could take several days.

Mr. Fujimori, who has already tried and failed to reach the presidency three times, insisted there will be long days ahead”.

She is the daughter of the late president Alberto Fujimori, who had been jailed for human rights violations.

“The result reflects the country’s divisions,” said Paulo Vilca, a political analyst at the Peruvian Studies Institute. “Whoever wins will have half the country against them.”

‘Respectful’

Mr. Sanchez, a 57-year-old former psychologist, surged late in the race to reach the runoff.

He has moderated his early calls for “radical change” and told AFP he wants a “respectful” relationship with US President Donald Trump.

On the eve of the election, a judge said Mr. Sanchez must stand trial over past financial irregularities in his party, raising claims of interference.

If he wins, he would have presidential immunity, though remain vulnerable to the country’s right-leaning legislature — which has ousted several recent presidents.

Mr. Sanchez has the backing of former President Pedro Castillo, a schoolteacher jailed after a failed attempt to dissolve Congress in 2022.

Mr. Sanchez is rarely seen in public without a broad-brimmed palm straw hat gifted to him by his mentor, whom he plans to pardon.

Neither Mr. Sanchez nor Fujimori will have a legislative majority and whoever wins must build alliances to complete their term, according to analyst Jeffrey Radzinsky.

Peru’s dueling Presidential hopefuls made a final pitch to voters on Thursday (June 4, 2026) capping a bruising and razor-tight race dominated by anger over rising crime and political instability.

Conservative Keiko Sofia Fujimori Higuchiand leftist Roberto Sanchez staged rival events in Lima ahead of Sunday’s (June 7, 2026) vote, with ardent flag-waving supporters arguing their “communist” or “dictator” opponents would bring the country to ruin.

“We cannot let them win with communism and terrorism,” said bandana-wearing 65-year-old Merida Delgado Perez, a Fujimori supporter, expressing fears that the left could lead Peru down a path seen in Venezuela and Cuba.

Each candidate has framed the election as a turning point for a country that has burned through eight Presidents in a decade.

Polls show them separated by only a few points, with roughly a fifth of voters still undecided in the last week of the campaign. An inconclusive first round with dozens of candidates reflected widespread frustration with Peru’s political class.

Ms. Keiko, seeking the presidency in her fourth attempt, has campaigned on a hardline security platform, promising military deployments and tougher prisons to confront rising extortion and violent crime. At her closing rally, she urged voters to back her to “avoid chaos and regression.” “We want a government that brings peace, that restores order. I will not let you down,” she said.

Ms. Keiko has invoked the legacy of her father, Mr. Alberto Fujimori who led Peru from 1990 to 2000 portraying herself as the candidate capable of restoring order at a time when insecurity dominates daily life for many Peruvians. Murder rates in the capital Lima have tripled in just five years, according to official data.

“Security has been badly affected in Peru, and we hope whoever takes office can reduce it,” said Jeanette Carlos Cordon, a 32-year-old nurse who will vote for Mr. Fujimori. “Recently there has been a lot of extortion, and every day people are dying because of it,” she said.

Mr. Fujimori’s legacy still defines his daughter’s political identity and is both an asset and a liability. He was hailed by supporters for defeating leftist insurgents and stabilising the economy but was later jailed for corruption and rights abuses before his death in 2024.

Left-wing candidate Mr. Sanchez has positioned himself as the voice of poorer and rural voters, pledging “radical change” and blaming entrenched elites and congressional gridlock for years of instability. At his own rally, he promised a break with the past.

“This will be the end of chaos, the end of the end of killings, corruption and impunity,” he told cheering supporters. “Our country needs real change, not more of the same,” he added.

Mr. Sanchez supporters blame Mr. Fujimori for weakening institutions and allowing criminal networks to expand amid repeated presidential crises. “Ms. Keiko represents the continuation of dictatorship inherited from her father,” said 63-year-old Cristina Sotomayor. “I lived during her father’s era, which was marked by total corruption,” she said.

In Lima’s crime-hit areas, voters say safety is their main concern, with extortion and violence shaping daily routines and amplifying demands for decisive leadership. “Daily life in Peru can be frightening there is so much crime and so many killings,” said 52-year-old farmer Raul Porras. “Extortion, murders, protection payments all of this is happening.”

Despite the turmoil, Peru’s economy has remained relatively stable, leaving the next President to navigate a divided Congress and deep public distrust in government. Around 27 million Peruvians are eligible to vote in Sunday’s (June 7, 2026) runoff.