Exit Polls Show Keiko Fujimori on the Verge of Peru's Presidency — on Her Fourth Try

After three failed attempts spanning 15 years, Keiko Fujimori appears to be on the cusp of becoming Peru's next president — and it almost wasn't even close.

Exit polls from Sunday's runoff election show Fujimori leading left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez by a razor-thin margin. According to a poll by Ipsos, she's at 50.7% to Sánchez's 49.3%. A second poll by Datum puts her at 50.53% versus 49.47%. That's about as close as it gets without being a tie.

So who is she? Keiko Fujimori is the daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, whose 1990–2000 government remains one of the most controversial in the country's modern history — he was later convicted of crimes against humanity and corruption. Keiko herself has been a major political figure for years, serving in Congress (2006–2011) and running for president in 2011, 2016, and 2021, losing each time by similarly slim margins. This is her fourth shot at the top job.

Her opponent, Roberto Sánchez, is a congressman and former government minister who ran on a platform of social reform, greater state involvement in the economy, and helping communities that feel left behind. He's also a political ally of ex-president Pedro Castillo — who is currently sitting in prison after attempting a self-coup in 2022. That association was both a source of support among his base and a vulnerability in the campaign.

Why does this matter beyond Peru? For starters, this election caps one of the most turbulent decades any democracy has had — Peru has cycled through roughly ten presidents since 2016, driven by corruption scandals, congressional power grabs, impeachments, and street protests. Crime has exploded too: extortion crimes surged 1,000% between 2023 and 2025, schools were being shaken down by gangs, and the national homicide rate grew 200% between 2019 and 2024. Voters going into this election were scared, frustrated, and deeply cynical about politics in general.

Fujimori's pitch was essentially: I'll bring order. She campaigned on security and economic stability, positioning herself as a steady hand in a country desperate for one. Sánchez pushed for structural reforms and a more activist government role in the economy — a vision that resonated strongly in rural regions but faced skepticism in urban centers.

Even the path to this runoff was messy. The first round in April featured 35 candidates (yes, 35), and the vote counting dragged on for over a month. A far-right candidate who came in third, Rafael López Aliaga, spent much of that time claiming fraud with no evidence — a move that rattled public trust further. Election monitors found no irregularities.

If the exit polls hold, Fujimori will be sworn in on July 28. But don't hold your breath for a clean finish — the final count could take days or weeks, and with margins this tight, every ballot sheet matters. Peru's already been down that road in 2021, when a similarly close result between Fujimori and Pedro Castillo took weeks to resolve amid fraud allegations.

For now, Fujimori leads. Whether that holds is the question.