Peru's runoff on a knife edge: count the result, or recount it? Fujimori leads by ~900 votes
Peru's presidential run-off is essentially tied: with 98.22% of tally sheets processed, right-wing Keiko Fujimori holds 50.003% to leftist Roberto Sánchez's 49.997% — a lead of just over 900 votes out of more than 18 million, per the electoral office ONPE. Fujimori urges calm and says the official count should be allowed to finish; Sánchez is asking for a full recount before any winner is declared. EU observers called the vote 'peaceful and orderly.'
The summary above is a neutral framing. Below, each side reports the same story in its own words — judge for yourself.
Keiko Fujimori leads the official ONPE tally — 50.003% to 49.997%, about 900 votes ahead with 98.22% processed, boosted by overseas ballots from the US and Japan. She said she received the results 'with serenity and great gratitude,' called for 'reflection and calm,' and urged waiting for the final ONPE count rather than pre-empting it — noting Sánchez had pledged to respect the result. Roughly 480,000 challenged ballots still must be reviewed, a standard process that could take up to two weeks.
With the margin down to a few hundred votes in a 50–50 split, leftist Roberto Sánchez is calling on Fujimori to back a full vote recount before any winner is proclaimed, arguing a contest this close demands maximum scrutiny of the tally sheets. His Juntos por el Perú party says it is viewing the partial results with 'composure' and has met with the EU election-observation mission, which judged the run-off peaceful and orderly despite a highly polarised campaign.
