Peru Elects 2026: Ongoing Coverage of the Presidential Race

The dates: April 12 first round, June 7 runoff, July 28 inauguration 
The details: A candidate needs more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright in the first round. Otherwise, the top two candidates advance to a runoff where an absolute majority wins. A presidential term lasts five years. Reelection is allowed but not consecutively.

The winner will replace interim President José María Balcázar, who entered office on February 18 as Peru’s ninth president in 10 years. 
Turnout: Turnout averages 81 percent, but was 70 percent in the 2021 first round. 
The voters: 27.3 million; Peruvians living abroad can vote.

The frontrunners: Two right-leaning candidates have polled atop a crowded field of 36 presidential hopefuls. One is businessman and ex-Mayor of Lima  Rafael “Porky” López Aliaga (2023–2025) of the Popular Renewal party (RP). The other is former congresswoman Keiko Fujimori (2006–2011), who lost in the previous three presidential runoffs. The daughter of ex-President Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000), she has held sway in Peru’s Congress even out of office through her leadership within the socially conservative People’s Force party.

Other notables: Comedian and TV presenter Carlos Álvarez is the candidate for the right-wing Country for All party. On the left is former Central Bank Director Alfonso López-Chau Nava (2006–2012) of the Now Nation party, who faces investigations for using his position as the president of the National University of Engineering (2021–2025) for political gain. 

Peru’s 2026 election will operate at an unprecedented scale. From the historic number of presidential candidates to an electorate that has grown by 65 percent over twenty years, the April 12 elections are already breaking records.

AS/COA Online highlights a few key facts and figures to shed insight into who’s voting, what they’re voting for, and what’s top of mind for voters when they cast ballots. 

17.3 X 16.5 inches. Those are the dimensions of the largest ballots that will be cast in this year’s general elections...

Get all the numbers here.