Translated by Schools for Chiapas, in collaboration with Avispa Mídia.
Peru's social movements are backing the demand of Roberto Sánchez, the left-wing candidate (running on a platform of social justice and Indigenous rights), for a full recount of the votes from the election held Sunday, June 7th. As of today, June 25th, with 99.87% of ballots tallied, far-right candidate Keiko Fujimori holds a 0.3% lead.
The evidence of manipulation lies in the votes cast abroad. Two weeks before the runoff, Peru's National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) changed the rules, ordering that ballot records from other countries be digitized in Peru rather than at the voting centers themselves. The Organization of American States (OAS) observation mission called the decision "noteworthy."
Once these votes were processed, Fujimori (Fuerza Popular, the *Fujimorista* party) overturned the 0.2% lead that Sánchez (Juntos por el Perú) had held according to the initial quick count — a count that had proven accurate in previous elections. Faced with well-founded suspicions that the ballot records had been altered, Sánchez called for the annulment of the vote cast in other countries and announced that he will not recognize Fujimori's eventual proclamation as president.
Support for Sánchez, who is backed by Pedro Castillo — the legitimate president who has been imprisoned since the 2022 coup against him — is dominant in the Andean and Amazonian regions. He won in 153 of Peru's 196 provinces. In 70 localities, he leads Fujimori by more than 50 points, a margin she fails to match anywhere in the country. Fujimori's support is concentrated in Lima and the coastal regions, which hold the largest share of the population.
Fujimori, who alleged fraud without evidence after the 2021 election and stalled Castillo's proclamation for two months, sowing instability, has rejected the demand for a recount.
Facing the prospect of a far-right government, Aymara organizations in the Puno region have stated they will not recognize Fujimori as president — a position echoed by collectives in the regions where Sánchez won. Mobilizations and sit-ins against the fraud continue. In Lima, access to the historic center is being controlled and police contingents have been deployed to deter the protests.
Fraud Points to Votes Cast in the United States
The electoral process abroad falls under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its current head, Carlos Pareja — who has ties to *Fujimorismo* (the political movement built around former dictator Alberto Fujimori, now led by his daughter Keiko) — took office on April 23rd, after the first round.
Peru's foreign minister served as an official during Alberto Fujimori's dictatorship. On his social media, he flaunts his close ties to an adviser on Keiko Fujimori's campaign and to the far right in the United States.
In the U.S., 368,000 Peruvians were eligible to vote, of whom 71,000 participated. According to the count carried out in Peru days later — after the ballot records were transported under the custody of the Foreign Ministry — 76% (roughly 55,000 votes) went to Fujimori. It is these 45,000 votes that hand Fujimori the presidency.
As for the ballot records from Argentina, where 32,000 votes were registered, suspicion arose over the fact that they arrived in Peru on the night of Wednesday, June 14th — the very day the deadline expired for filing legal challenges.
The legislative bloc of Juntos por el Perú (Together for Peru) filed a constitutional complaint against Foreign Minister Pareja for alleged crimes of electoral fraud, obstruction of electoral proceedings, and dereliction of duty.
The media narrative around a possible Fujimori victory began after the release of the quick count from the civil association Transparencia and the polling firm Ipsos — a count that has not been wrong in any election since the return of democracy, and which had given Sánchez a 0.2% lead. The only time Ipsos got it wrong was in 2000, when Alberto Fujimori secured a second reelection through fraud.
Across the region, the United States has repeatedly manipulated presidential elections, with its government backing far-right administrations and projects throughout Latin America. In Honduras and Colombia, where candidates backed by Donald Trump were installed, the final polls had placed them well behind their rivals, by a considerable margin. What was framed as a technical tie played out the same way in both Peru and Colombia.
Across South America, right-wing governments are falling into alignment — in countries like Chile and Argentina, joined by Colombia and Peru, alongside other U.S. allies such as Ecuador and Bolivia.
