Right-wing Fujimori holds narrow lead one week before Peru presidential runoff, polls show


Presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, who is making a fourth bid for Peru's presidency, reacts during her closing campaign rally ahead of the April 12 general election, in Lima, Peru, April 9, 2026. REUTERS/Angela Ponce

LIMA, May ⁠31 (Reuters) - Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds a narrow lead over leftist ⁠Roberto Sanchez one week before Peru's presidential runoff, two polls ‌showed on Sunday.

Fujimori is expected to take 38% of the votes while Sanchez is predicted to secure 35% in the runoff on June 7, according to the Ipsos poll ​conducted May 29-30 and published in the local ⁠newspaper Peru 21.

Support for Fujimori ⁠fell by one percentage point compared to the previous Ipsos poll, while ⁠Sanchez ‌maintained the same level of support. The number of people who said they would not vote for any candidate or would ⁠spoil their ballot increased by one percentage point ​to 27%.

"The big question ‌in the final week is what undecided voters or those ⁠who say they ​plan to cast a blank or invalid ballot will do," said Alfredo Torres, CEO of Ipsos. "The logic of choosing the lesser evil will ultimately determine who ⁠will be president of Peru for the ​2026-2031 term."

Another poll, conducted May 26-30 by Datum Internacional and published in the local newspaper El Comercio, showed Fujimori securing 39.8% of the vote and ⁠Sanchez taking 35.9%.

Fujimori, late former President Alberto Fujimori's daughter who is running for the fourth time, won the first round on April 12 with 17% of votes. Sanchez, an ally of jailed former leftist President Pedro ​Castillo, narrowly secured a place in the runoff ⁠with 12% of votes.

Both candidates will take part in a debate later ​on Sunday.

Ipsos' poll had a margin of error ‌of 2.8 percentage points while Datum ​Internacional had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Leila Miller, editing by Deepa Babington)

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