Candidates end presidential campaign in Peru for a fierce 2nd round

Keiko Fujimori (left) and Roberto Sánchez (right).
Stifs Paucca and Angela Ponce / Reuters
Right-wing Keiko Fujimori and left-wing Roberto Sánchez ended their campaigns on Thursday (4) in front of thousands of supporters, on the eve of Sunday's fierce second presidential round, an election taking place in a Peru plagued by crime and instability politics.
Amidst shouts of "Keiko for president", Fujimori, who is the daughter of former autocratic president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), asked Peruvians to vote to "avoid chaos and setbacks".
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"We want a government that brings us peace, that restores order! We want a government of trust... I won't disappoint them," said Fujimori, a 51-year-old business administrator who is running for president for the fourth consecutive time.
At the rally, Mérida Delgado, 65, told AFP that she feared that a victory for the left would take Peru down the same path as Venezuela or Cuba: "We cannot let them win with communism and terrorism."
Among fireworks and Andean music, Sánchez, a 57-year-old deputy and former minister, promised "democracy". "It will be the end of chaos, the end of 'Mrs. K', the end of murders, corruption and impunity", he declared.
Election in Peru has investigations for corruption and radical proposals
"Down with the 'mafia woman', down with Fujimorism!", shouted Sánchez who, as he did throughout the campaign, wore the peasant hat that he had received as a gift from former president Pedro Castillo, currently imprisoned for a failed attempt to self-coup of state.
"All these years have been chaotic. This will be Keiko's fourth defeat. I lived through her father's era, which was marked by total corruption," Cristina Sotomayor, a 63-year-old administrator and supporter present at Sánchez's rally, told AFP.
Just days before the vote, the most recent poll, carried out five days ago, shows the two candidates in a technical tie, with a fifth of the electorate undecided and tired of the political turmoil that has seen eight presidents in a single decade.
The first round, which featured around thirty candidates and was marked by technical failures and allegations of fraud, reflected widespread frustration with Peru's political class. Together, Fujimori and Sánchez did not even obtain 30% of the votes.
The issue of crime
Sánchez presents himself as the voice of poor voters and rural areas, promises "radical change" and accuses the elites and Parliament of being responsible for the instability.
Keiko promises a firm stance against insecurity in a country that recorded a 20% increase in reported extortion cases in 2025, compared to the previous year.
Election in Peru has investigations for corruption and radical proposals
"Everyday life in Peru can be terrifying: there is a lot of crime and a lot of murders. Extortion, homicides, charging 'protection fees'...", said Raúl Porras, a 52-year-old farmer, during the rally.
Lima recorded 23 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025, three times the rate of five years earlier, according to data officers.
At the end of his campaign, Sánchez attributed rampant crime to corruption. "That's why we are going to propose 'civil death' for the corrupt," he declared, referring to a plan to permanently prevent them from holding public office.
Despite the instability, the Peruvian economy is stable. The next president will have to deal with a divided Congress and the population's deep distrust of the government.
Around 27 million Peruvians are called to vote in the second round of elections in a country where voting is mandatory.

Source: G1