Conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori reclaimed a narrow lead in Peru's presidential runoff on Wednesday night, as ballots cast by Peruvians living abroad reversed what had been a slight advantage for her leftist rival, Roberto Sánchez. With 98.2% of tally sheets processed by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Fujimori stood at 50.002% against Sánchez's 49.998% — a margin of roughly 600 votes from approximately 18 million cast. If the result holds, she would become the first woman elected president of Peru.

The shift was driven almost entirely by the overseas vote, which historically leans to the right. In the United States, home to around 30% of Peruvian emigrants, Fujimori took 76.5% of ballots; in Spain she received 60.1%, and in Argentina 61.3%. Earlier in the count, Sánchez had held a lead of around 30,000 votes, built on strong support from rural and Andean regions. The two candidates have remained locked in an extraordinarily tight race throughout, with exit polls favouring Fujimori and a widely followed rapid count by the polling firm Ipsos briefly pointing toward Sánchez.

Significant uncertainty remains. Some 1.76% of tally sheets — representing roughly 400,000 votes — have been flagged for judicial review, a process that could take weeks and push the official proclamation of a winner to mid-July. Notably, the majority of those contested sheets come from metropolitan Lima, considered a Fujimori stronghold, which adds another layer of complexity to the final outcome.

The political atmosphere has grown tense as the count has dragged on. Fujimori appeared outside her home to call on Sánchez to honour his earlier pledge to respect the final result.