Keiko Fujimori has announced that she has won the presidential race in Peru | Election News

Keiko Fujimori has been chosen as the winner of the presidential race in Peru by the country’s electoral court, the National Jury of Elections (JNE).

Friday’s announcement comes a few weeks after the June 7 election against his leftist counterpart, Congressman Roberto Sanchez.

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Fujimori had a narrow lead after polls closed earlier this week, and an official released on Friday showed a narrow victory. He took 9,223,000 votes to Sanchez’s 9,173,000.

“A new phase has begun,” Fujimori wrote on the X website on Friday.

“We see this with responsibility, humility, and great responsibility. Each day of this change is an opportunity to listen, discuss, and arrive ready at the beginning of the new government.”

Fujimori is the daughter of a former president Alberto Fujimori, who were arrested for violating human rights.

Running on an anti-crime platform, he promised to “unify the country”, which has been struggling with years of political turmoil and economic collapse.

Fujimori and Sanchez reached the second round after defeating 33 other candidates, the largest margin, in the April election.

But the delay in April’s voter allocation – and the counting of remote votes after both polls – has clouded the election, prompting political interests to complain.

Sanchez, who had strong support among rural and indigenous voters, said there were errors and fraud in the counting of votes, but did not provide any evidence.

Instead, he has referred to changes in the electoral process as a sign of disintegration. A new principle came into force in the elections which liberalized the possibility of digital ballots.

However, election officials warn that no evidence of voter fraud has been found.

Reporting from the Peruvian capital of Lima, Al Jazeera reporter Mariana Sanchez said that Fujimori’s victory was supported by the encouragement of foreign countries.

“He (Roberto Sanchez) won the most votes in Peru, but the votes from abroad went to Fujimori,” Al Jazeera’s Sanchez said.

He added that Sanchez may want to strengthen his base in the coming weeks so that Fujimori can be removed quickly after he is sworn in.

Such criticism has become common in Peru, where the law allows the removal of the president for reasons as serious as “failure to perform well”.

Fujimori is expected to become Peru’s ninth president in 10 years when he takes office at the end of July, Peru’s independence day.

Leftist Sanchez – a former cabinet member under jailed President Pedro Castillo – has already extended his opposition to the vote at international institutions.

“He has submitted his case to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, and he has said that he will open a front here, a political and cultural struggle group,” said Mariana Sanchez.

But any push to impeach Fujimori would have to contend with changes in Peru’s Congress.

Formerly a unicameral body, made up of the Chamber of Deputies, the parliament will now renew its Senate, which was abolished under Fujimori’s father in the 1990s.

The incoming Senate this month has 60 seats, divided between Fujimori’s Fuerza Popular party, Sanchez’s Juntos por el Peru party, and their allies.

For any case to be successful, it must first pass the Chamber of Deputies and then the Senate with a two-thirds vote.

“Indeed, stability in this country depends on the Senate, because the Senate will have the power to oppose the government with 40 votes and the Senate is divided in two,” said Mariana Sanchez.

“So, we will see if the Senate decides to keep Fujimori for five years, or impeach him and continue the political instability in the country.”

Fujimori, 51, has run for president in the past three elections, but has lost each time.

However, his hard-on-crime message seemed to be in line with the election, as Peru has been plagued by high levels of crime, including kidnappings, kidnappings and murders.

The administration of the President of the United States Donald Trump, who has supported several right-wing activists in Latin America, supported Fujimori. Trump has endorsed an increasingly military approach to security in the region.

Fujimori has also been embraced by other Latin American right-wing leaders, including Argentina’s Javier Milei.