Peru’s Sanchez secures runoff spot amid campaign finance indictment
Official results confirm Roberto Sanchez will face Keiko Fujimori in the June 7 presidential runoff, despite fresh charges alleging false statements and unreported political contributions.
Peruvian leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez has qualified for the June 7 runoff election, narrowly defeating far-right rival Rafael Lopez Aliaga by a margin of 18,799 votes. The qualification was confirmed on Wednesday following the counting of 99.94 percent of votes from the first round held in April. Sanchez will face conservative Keiko Fujimori, who led the initial ballot with 17.1 percent of the vote.
The announcement of Sanchez’s advancement came shortly after Peru’s public prosecutor indicted him on campaign finance violations. Prosecutors have requested a prison sentence of five years and four months, alleging that Sanchez made false statements in an administrative proceeding and falsified information regarding contributions and income of political organisations between 2018 and 2020. The indictment specifically cites unreported contributions exceeding $57,000 from party members.
Sanchez has denied the allegations, characterising them as a political attempt to discredit him. In a social media post, he stated there was never any fraud or misappropriation, noting that courts had previously dismissed accusations regarding the alleged personal use of party financial resources. He argued that the charges were an effort to plant a lie against his campaign.
The legal proceedings against Sanchez have a recent history of judicial scrutiny. An initial case brought before the courts in January 2026 was partially rejected by the judiciary, prompting prosecutors to reformulate the charges. A hearing scheduled for May 27 will determine whether the case proceeds to trial or is dismissed, leaving the outcome of the legal challenge uncertain as the election approaches.
While Lopez Aliaga has claimed the election was fraudulent and called for it to be annulled, he has provided no evidence to support these assertions. The European Union’s election observer mission gave the election a clean bill of health, despite logistical delays in the delivery of election materials in Lima that forced authorities to reopen some polling stations. Peru has experienced significant political instability, with eight different leaders serving in the past decade.
