Peru’s National Jury of Elections has confirmed the official results of last month’s first-round presidential vote, setting up a runoff on 7 June between the conservative leader Keiko Fujimori and the left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez.
Ms Fujimori finished first with about 17 per cent of valid votes, ahead of Mr Sánchez on roughly 12 per cent, in a crowded field that left no candidate close to an outright majority.
The runoff will be the fourth time Ms Fujimori, leader of the conservative People’s Force party and the daughter of the late former president Alberto Fujimori, has reached the second round of a presidential election. She has lost on each previous occasion.
Mr Sánchez, who represents the far left, advances as the principal challenger in a contest that once again pits sharply opposed visions of the country’s direction against one another.
The first round was overshadowed by serious organisational failures. Electoral officials acknowledged that dozens of polling stations had been set up late or not at all, and that more than 50,000 people had been unable to cast a ballot. The count was also delayed.
Peru has cycled through a series of presidents and political crises in recent years, and the troubled first round has added to public frustration with the country’s institutions.
Whoever wins on 7 June will inherit a polarised electorate and a fragmented Congress, conditions that have repeatedly made the country difficult to govern.