Peru's President-Elect Keiko Fujimori: A Journey Marked by Three Previous Defeats

Keiko Fujimori has been announced as the new President-elect of Peru. This victory comes after Fujimori previously suffered three defeats in presidential elections.

According to reports from CNN and CNBC, the 51-year-old is the daughter of the late Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and Susana Higuchi. Fujimori was the first woman in Peru to reach the presidential race during the 2011 election.

After losing her initial bid, she attempted to secure the presidency again in the 2016 and 2021 elections, both of which ended in defeat. However, in the most recent election, Fujimori was declared the winner of the second round held on 7 June.

The National Electoral Process Office of Peru released the final vote count, showing that Fujimori’s party, Fuerza Popular, edged out the left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez of the Together for Peru party. The margin was only 49,641 votes out of approximately 18 million cast, with Fujimori securing 50.13% of the valid votes compared to 49.86% for Sánchez.

Fujimori is scheduled to be inaugurated as president on 28 July and is expected to serve a five-year term alongside Luis Fernando Galarreta as First Vice President and Miguel Ángel Torres Morales as Second Vice President. She will become Peru’s ninth president within the last decade.

In a post on X following the official announcement, Fujimori thanked voters for their support and stated that Peru is entering a ‘new chapter’. She pledged to lead the transition with ‘humility and a deep sense of responsibility’.

Following the announcement of the final tally, she alleged irregularities in overseas voting and stated her intention to appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). However, in declaring Fujimori’s victory on Friday (3 July), the National Electoral Board of Peru stated that reviews found no such inconsistencies in the voting and rejected the appeal filed by the Together for Peru party.