Presidential election in Peru: Keiko Fujimori maintains a narrow lead before the second round

Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori maintains a slight lead over her left-wing rival Roberto Sanchez one week before the second round of the Peruvian presidential election, according to two polls published Sunday.

According to a survey conducted by the Ipsos institute on May 29 and 30, Fujimori would receive 38% of the vote intentions compared to 35% for Sanchez. Another poll, conducted by Datum Internacional, gives him 39,8% of the vote, compared to 35,9% for his opponent.

These results confirm the extreme uncertainty surrounding the election scheduled for June 7. The two candidates remain separated by only a few points, while a significant portion of the electorate remains undecided. According to Ipsos, 27% of voters say they intend to cast a blank ballot, invalidate their ballot, or have not yet made up their mind.

For Alfredo Torres, CEO of Ipsos, the behavior of these voters will be decisive for the outcome of the election.

“The big question of the last week is what undecided voters or those who say they want to cast a blank or invalid ballot will do,” he said. According to him, choosing the “lesser of two evils” could ultimately determine Peru’s next president for the 2026-2031 term.

Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, is participating in her fourth presidential campaign. She came out on top in the first round held on April 12 with approximately 17% of the vote.

His opponent, Roberto Sanchez, an ally of former left-wing president Pedro Castillo, had narrowly qualified for the second round after obtaining nearly 12% of the votes.

The two candidates still have to face off in a televised debate considered crucial to convincing the many undecided voters.

With respective margins of error of 2,8 points for Ipsos and 2,5 points for Datum Internacional, the polls show that no candidate has a decisive lead. The campaign is therefore entering its final stretch in a climate of strong political polarization, where every vote could weigh heavily on the final result.