LIMA, April 9 (Reuters) - Peruvians head to the polls on April 12, hoping to break a cycle of political turmoil that has prevented any president from completing a full term over the past decade, amid corruption scandals, rising crime and voter frustration.
About 27 million Peruvians are eligible to vote for a new president and a newly reinstated bicameral congress. Polling stations open at 0700 local time (1200 GMT) on Sunday and close at 1700, when paper ballots measuring nearly half a meter (44 centimeters)—the longest in the country's history—will then be counted.
In a busy Lima suburb, campaign posters for dozens of presidential hopefuls crowd roundabouts and lamp posts as a record 35 candidates vie for attention.
"I've seen the ballot and it honestly gave me a headache," said shopkeeper Marlene Jimenez. "I don't know who to vote for."
Opinion polls suggest right‑wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds a narrow lead ahead of Sunday's vote. She is closely followed by at least three contenders—including two former mayors of Lima, the ultra‑conservative Rafael Lopez Aliaga and media entrepreneur Ricardo Belmont, and political outsider, Carlos Alvarez, a former comedian.
None of the candidates poll above 15%, making a runoff on June 7 almost certain, analysts said. The three candidates trailing Fujimori, daughter of late former president Alberto Fujimori, are also in a technical tie, said Urpi Torrado of polling firm Datum Internacional.
"There are four days to go (until Sunday), and the story can change," Torrado said.
The high number of undecided voters means that the second tier of candidates "cannot be ignored", said Nicolas Watson at consultancy Teneo, even if they only garner 4.5% to 6% support.
Surveys suggested about 13% of voters remained undecided.
'FACELESS JUDGES'
For many Peruvians, the fragmented contest reflects deeper institutional decline. The country has cycled through eight presidents since 2018, as leaders were either impeached, jailed or forced from office.
These elections could mark a break from this cycle of instability, or "keep us trapped in it", said political analyst Fernando Tuesta.
The fight against corruption is a prominent campaign theme. Four former presidents are currently in prison, most linked to bribery cases that involved Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. Alberto Fujimori served 16 years in jail for human rights abuses and died in 2024 after being released on humanitarian grounds.
Crime, however, now rivals—and in many cases surpasses— corruption as the top voter concern.
Peru was not traditionally associated with organized crime, but homicide and extortion have surged, particularly hitting transport workers and small businesses, said professor Paula Munoz at Lima's Universidad del Pacifico.
Official data shows extortion cases were up nearly 20% last year, and homicide rates reached new records.
The rise has fueled support for tougher, populist responses on the right, Munoz said, reflecting a broader Latin American trend in which crime is increasingly seen as an issue best handled by hardline leaders, like El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele.
Proposals by some candidates include deploying troops, reinstating the death penalty, withdrawing from international human rights courts, and allowing magistrates handling criminal cases to remain anonymous that would reinstate the country's so-called "faceless judges," which Peru has not had since 1997.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino, Lucinda Elliott and Reuters TV; Editing by Cassandra Garrison and Janane Venkatraman)
