Poll Tracker: Peru's 2026 Presidential Election

This article was originally published on February 11 and has since been updated. 

A series of impeachments, resignations, and interim governments have marked a tumultuous decade in Peruvian politics that has seen nine occupants of the presidential palace. The latest changeover, less than two months before the first-round vote, could have an impact on the outcome—particularly as a large portion of the electorate remains undecided. 

On February 18, Congress appointed José María Balcázar of the leftist Free Peru party to lead the country on an interim basis until an elected president is sworn in on July 28. A former judge currently under investigation in a bribery case, the 83-year-old Balcázar was expelled from a regional bar association under suspicion of embezzlement in 2022. While chair of the congressional education committee in 2023, he made widely condemned comments supporting child marriage and was the only legislator to vote against ending the practice.

On the night of his appointment, Balcázar dismissed suggestions he had plans to pardon ex-President Pedro Castillo (2021–2022), also of Free Peru, who is currently in prison for an attempted “self-coup.” Balcázar, who entered office with a 63 percent disapproval rating, is the fourth president to serve in the five-year term that began with Castillo’s 2021 election.

Can this year's vote be the reset needed to slow the revolving presidential door? In an election marked by concerns about insecurity and corruption, a record-breaking 36 candidates are vying for the votes of a 27.3 million-strong electorate in the April 12 first round. If no candidate captures more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two advance to a June 7 runoff. 

Leading most polls is former Lima Mayor Rafael López Aliaga (2023–2025) of the right-wing Popular Renewal party (RP). Also known as “Porky,” the politician and businessman’s style has drawn comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump. Behind him is Keiko Fujimori, who heads the conservative People’s Force (FP) and is the eldest daughter of former authoritarian President Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000). This is the former congresswoman’s fourth presidential run, after making the last three runoffs. Although she last held an elected position in 2011, Fujimori holds sway in the country’s powerful Congress, where her party leads a right-wing bloc.

No other candidate consistently polls above 6 percent across surveys, but other notable figures include comedian Carlos Álvarez of the right-wing Country for All party (PPT); Alfonso López-Chau of the left-of-center Now Nation party (AN), a former central bank director (2006–2012) currently under investigation for alleged corruption during his time as president of the National University of Engineering (2021–2025); and education entrepreneur César Acuña, candidate and founder of the right-wing Alliance for Progress party(APP). Acuña has faced multiple allegations of corruption throughout his public life, which spans terms as a congressmember (2000–2006) for and governor (2015, 2023–2025) of the agriculture- and gold-producing department of La Libertad, as well as two-term mayor (2007–2014) of its capital, Trujillo.