AUTHOR: Diego Vargas
LIMA — Peruvians will elect their ninth president in 10 years Sunday as a runoff contest between Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez unfolds against a backdrop of soaring crime rates, mass protests and a deeply polarized electorate.
The June 7 vote pits the conservative daughter of a disgraced former president against a nationalist congressman aligned with the imprisoned former President Pedro Castillo — two figures whose legitimacy is disputed by large swaths of the Peruvian public.
Both candidates received less than 20% support in an April first-round contest that included 33 other hopefuls. Electoral authorities took more than a month to officially certify the results, a delay that fueled accusations of manipulation and triggered nationwide demonstrations.
Crime has become the defining issue. Extortion complaints have increased fivefold over the past five years, reaching 28,948 cases in 2025, while homicides doubled to 2,226 last year, according to official data. An April 2025 survey found 84% of urban Peruvians feared becoming a crime victim within the next 12 months.
Experts link the surge to organized criminal groups profiting from illegal gold mining in the Andes and Amazon — a trade that generated nearly 100 tons of illegally mined gold exports in 2025, nearly matching Peru’s legal gold exports.
The race is expected to be razor-close. Results may not be known for days, and analysts warn that a large bloc of undecided voters — many voting negatively against the candidate they dislike most — could swing the outcome in either direction.
More than 27 million Peruvians are registered to vote, including approximately 1.2 million abroad, primarily in the United States and Argentina.
Diego Vargas is Media Hook’s Latin America correspondent, based in Lima.