Peru’s electoral commission announced Monday that right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori has won the presidential race.
Earlier, the country’s election authority had completed 100% vote tallying 22 days after the June 7 election.
Final results showed conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori leading with 50,135% or 9,223,396 votes over leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez’s 49,865% or 9,173,755 votes.
The runoff between Fujimori and Sánchez was one of the closest elections in Latin America in decades. Crime and political instability have dominated the race to elect Peru’s ninth leader in ten years.
Fujimori family returns to power
This was also Fujimori’s fourth bid for the position. His victory means his family name returns to power more than two decades after his father, former President Alberto Fujimori, was ousted from power.
He led Peru through the turbulent 1990s, crushing the Maoist Shining Path rebels and overcoming hyperinflation. However, Alberto Fujimori was later disgraced, exiled, and imprisoned for corruption and crimes against humanity.
On July 28, Keiko Fujimori will replace interim President Jose Maria Balcazar for a five-year term.
Earlier, Sanchez had said he would not recognize a Fujimori-led government, citing “serious violations of the electoral process”.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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