Keiko Fujimori holds lead in Peru's election with 50% of ballots counted


Peru’s presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori waves as she leaves after voting during the general election, in Lima, Peru April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Angela Ponce

LIMA, April 13 (Reuters) - ⁠Delays at polling stations and lingering uncertainty ⁠over who will reach a runoff marked ‌a second day of voting and vote counting in Peru on Monday, with conservative Keiko Fujimori clinging to a ​narrow lead in a crowded ⁠presidential race.

Logistical problems tied ⁠to the distribution of voting materials prompted officials ⁠to ‌extend voting into Monday for tens of thousands of voters who were ⁠unable to cast ballots on Sunday nL6N40V04I ​after the ‌opening of some polling stations was delayed.

The ⁠official count ​from Peru's electoral authority, ONPE, showed in early morning hours former congresswoman Fujimori leading with about ⁠17% of the vote, followed by ​right‑wing former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga on roughly 15%, and center‑left candidate Jorge Nieto in ⁠third place with around 13%, with 50% of votes counted.

Exit polls on Sunday had placed Fujimori – daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who ​was imprisoned for human ⁠rights abuses – in the lead, although Lopez Aliaga ​briefly moved ahead earlier in ‌the official count, underscoring how ​tight and fluid the race remains.

(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; editing by Cassandra Garrison)

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