Peru held an unprecedented supplementary voting day on Monday after more than 52,000 citizens were unable to cast ballots the previous day due to logistical failures. The National Elections Jury (JNE) — Peru's highest electoral authority — authorised the extension, allowing affected voters to participate at 187 polling stations in Lima and at diaspora voting centres in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey. Electoral authorities urged polling firms to suspend the publication of new surveys to avoid influencing the remaining voters.
The disruption stemmed from the failure of contractor Servicios Generales Galaga to deliver electoral materials on time to several Lima districts, preventing the setup of 211 polling stations across 15 voting centres. The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) initially estimated 63,300 voters were affected before revising the figure to 52,251. ONPE chief Piero Corvetto described the incident as a "limited logistical problem." The complication took on a political dimension when investigative outlet Convoca reported that the company responsible had been a supplier to the Lima municipality during the tenure of candidate Rafael López Aliaga, who had previously — and without evidence — accused electoral authorities of orchestrating fraud.
Despite the extension, a full quick count by pollster Datum Internacional, based on roughly 300,000 tallied ballots, pointed clearly to a runoff between conservative Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular and ultraconservative López Aliaga of Renovación Popular, scheduled for 7 June. The official ONPE tally, with 47% of ballots processed, confirmed Fujimori in first place with 17.05%, López Aliaga second with 15.36%, and centrist Jorge Nieto third with 13.25%. Datum's chief executive estimated that Monday's pending votes — each tenth of a percentage point representing roughly 20,000 votes — would not alter the overall outcome.
If confirmed, this will mark the fourth consecutive time Fujimori has reached a presidential runoff. She lost narrowly in 2011 to Ollanta Humala, in 2016 to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, and in 2021 to Pedro Castillo — on the latter two occasions alleging fraud and contributing to political instability. This is her first campaign without her father, former authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori, who died in 2024 following a controversial humanitarian pardon for crimes against humanity. She told AFP she intended to "restore order" within her first 100 days in office.
The election carries particular weight for a country that has had nine presidents in the past decade, with none completing a full term since 2016. The vote also marked the return of a bicameral Congress for the first time in more than 30 years, with Peruvians electing 130 lower-house members and 60 senators alongside the presidency. A grassroots movement, #PorEstosNo, had urged voters to punish the ten parties currently holding seats in parliament, reflecting deep public frustration with the political class. Full official results are expected to take several days, with ONPE updating its digital platform every 15 minutes.