Fourth time lucky as Peruvian political heir Keiko Fujimori wins presidency after razor-thin election victory

LIMA, June 30 — Peru’s conservative president-elect Keiko Fujimori vowed yesterday to restore “order and hope” after defeating left-winger Roberto Sanchez in the latest victory for a resurgent Latin American right.

Fujimori won the June 7 presidential runoff by the slimmest of margins, outpolling Sanchez by fewer than 50,000 votes out of the more than 18 million ballots cast, the final results showed.

“Each time we draw closer to starting on the path of order and hope for all Peruvians,” she wrote on X after being proclaimed the winner.

The 51-year-old daughter of late president Alberto Fujimori secured the top office on her fourth attempt.

The election was fought on rising crime and chronic political instability, which has seen the Andean country burn through eight presidents in a decade.

With extortion gangs and contract killings on the rise, Fujimori vowed a strong hand, like that of her autocratic father.

Alberto Fujimori won praise for crushing Maoist rebels and taming hyperinflation but was later disgraced, exiled and jailed for corruption and crimes against humanity committed in the name of fighting terrorism.

Sanchez had yet to react to the announcement of the results.

At one point he took a lead in the vote count but Fujimori soon surpassed him.

Sanchez had warned he would not recognize a government headed by his rival, alleging administrative irregularities in the handling of the overseas portion of the vote.

Dark memories

Fujimori will take office on July 28 for a five-year term.

Long seen as confrontational, she worked hard on the campaign trail to soften her image.

Poised and polished, with a penchant for trouser suits and a practiced smile, she grew up around heads of state.

She became first lady at 19, after her mother publicly broke with Fujimori, and trained in the United States as a business administrator.

For decades, the Fujimori brand has been a help and a hindrance, giving her instant recognition, a loyal voter base and deep political networks — but also plenty of critics.

Millions of Peruvians harbor dark memories of her father’s rule and refuse to vote for anyone named Fujimori, blocking her path to the presidency three times.

Critics also blame her and her party for much of Peru’s political instability, citing Fuerza Popular’s heavy influence and deal‑making in Congress. — AFP