Peru's Presidential Race Too Close to Call as Fujimori

(MENAFN) Peru's presidential runoff tightened into a razor-thin contest late Sunday as the country's National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) pressed forward with its vote tally, with neither candidate able to claim a decisive lead.

A nationwide quick count conducted by pollster Transparencia-IPSOS placed Roberto Sanchez narrowly ahead with 50.3% of the vote against Keiko Fujimori's 49.7% — a margin so slim it left the outcome far from certain.

An earlier IPSOS exit poll, released shortly after polling stations closed, had initially pointed to a Fujimori advantage of 50.7% against Sanchez's 49.3%, though subsequent projections quickly signaled a rapidly narrowing gap.

Addressing reporters at a Lima hotel, Fujimori struck a cautious tone, pushing back against any premature declarations of victory.

"It would be irresponsible to define the result based on a sample such as the quick count, which uses approximately 1,000 polling station reports out of 99,000 nationwide," said Fujimori. "We need to count every tally sheet. Whatever the results may be, we will accept them, and I hope my opponent will do the same."

Fujimori's Popular Force party representatives echoed that measured stance publicly, calling on poll watchers to "defend the vote" and urging supporters to "remain vigilant" as results continued rolling in.

Sanchez, backed by the Together for Peru party, issued a formal statement following the exit poll release, pledging full respect for the official results while calling on electoral authorities to safeguard every vote cast.

"Of course we have faith. We are optimistic, but today everything depends on your work as a poll watcher," Sanchez said. "We have grown in Lima, we have grown in the north, and our support has strengthened in the south."

As the count stretched into the night, the rival camps staked out their respective corners of the capital. Fujimori's campaign gathered at a hotel in Lima's San Borja district, while several hundred Sanchez supporters flooded Plaza San Martín in the city's historic center, where the candidate addressed the crowd from a balcony.

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