Peru’s National Election Jury (JNE) on Friday officially proclaimed conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori as president-elect, ending nearly a month of uncertainty following the 7 June runoff. The final count gave Fujimori 50.135 percent of the vote (9,223,396 ballots) against 49.865 percent (9,173,755) for left-wing congressman Roberto Sánchez, a margin of 49,641 votes. The proclamation triggers a transition timetable: Fujimori will receive her credentials on 15 July and be sworn in on 28 July, succeeding interim president José María Balcázar and governing until 2031. She becomes the ninth person to hold the presidency since 2016 in a country marked by chronic executive turnover.

Fujimori, who did not attend the JNE ceremony, issued a statement acknowledging a “practically divided” country and pledging to “listen, engage in dialogue, and arrive prepared.” Sánchez, the political heir of jailed former president Pedro Castillo, has refused to recognise the result, alleging without evidence that procedural changes in the handling of overseas ballots constituted fraud. The JNE had already dismissed his request to annul votes cast abroad, and on Wednesday Sánchez filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH). Viewed from Lima, the defeated candidate’s strategy mirrors Fujimori’s own unsuccessful challenges after her narrow losses in 2011, 2016 and 2021, though international observer missions from the OAS and the European Union reported no irregularities.

The formal result was swiftly acknowledged by foreign governments. Washington, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said the Trump administration “looks forward to deepening collaboration” on security, investment and trade. Argentine President Javier Milei, Chilean far-right leader José Antonio Kast and Colombian president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella all framed the outcome as part of a regional conservative realignment. Brazil’s left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also congratulated Fujimori, emphasising bilateral cooperation on trade, infrastructure and Amazon protection. The European Union expressed readiness to work with the new administration. These reactions underscore how Fujimori’s victory consolidates a rightward tilt in South America, where eight of the continent’s twelve independent countries are now led by right-of-centre governments.

Fujimori, 51, is the daughter of the late Alberto Fujimori, who governed from 1990 to 2000 and was later convicted of corruption and crimes against humanity. Her campaign centred on a hardline security platform, promising an “iron fist” against organised crime and extortion, which have surged in recent years. She inherits a fragmented Congress in which her Fuerza Popular party lacks a majority, and faces immediate pressure to deliver on public safety and economic growth. The next procedural step is the 15 July credential ceremony, while Sánchez’s CIDH appeal remains pending, though it is not expected to halt the inauguration.