Keiko Fujimori Leads Peru Presidential Polls a Week Out
By Reuters | 05 Apr, 2026

Right-winger and daughter of a former president, Keiko Fujimori emerges in first place in three polls but a 35-candidate field makes a runoff inevitable.

Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori gestures as she attends a televised debate ahead of the general election on April 12, in Lima, Peru, March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Angela Ponce

Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds first place in the polls one week before Peru's presidential election, according to three polls released on Sunday.

Since none of a record 35 presidential candidates are expected to win more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election is expected to take place on June 7.

Some 16.8% of voters remain undecided, down from 23.9%previously, according to a Datum International poll.

Keiko Fujimori, 50, the daughter of late presidentAlberto Fujimori who is on her fourth run for the job, leads with 14.5% according to Datum, up from a prior 13%.  Carlos Alvarez, a former comedian, moved up to second place with 10.9% from a prior 6.9%, it added.

Far-right former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga dropped to third place with 9.9%, down from a prior 11.7%, Datum said.

Two other polls, Ipsos Peru and the Peruvian Market Research Company, also showed Fujimori in the lead but disagreed over whether Alvarez or Lopez Aliaga ranked in second place.OTHER CANDIDATES

While Alvarez has seen the fastest growth in support, Lopez Aliaga's close proximity keeps him in the running, according to Datum CEO Urpi Torrado. 

"The battle is no longer for the undecided voters; it is between the candidates themselves. To gain ground, they have to take voters away from each other," Torrado said.

Other candidates polling in the higher single digits include centrist sociologist Jorge Nieto; Ricardo Belmont, another former Lima mayor; leftist lawmaker Roberto Sanchez; and progressive former central bank director Alfonso Lopez Chau.  Lopez Chau hit second place in some earlier polls, but by early April had dropped to between fourth and seventh place.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Mark Porter)