Description: Leftist and nationalist presidential candidate, Roberto Sanchez, leads by a slim margin ahead of his opponent, right – wing Keiko Fujimori in Peru’s highly contested presidential election. Both candidates cast their ballots and gave public statements reaffirming their campaign promises. Fujimori reiterated her tough on crime policies, the militarization of the police force and reformation of Peru’s penitentiary system. Sanchez confirmed that he would focus on rooting out corruption in the police force, introducing legislature to allow the military to support the police in high – risk security operations and reform the mining sector through domestic or Chinese investments. The vote count focused on the rural areas of Peru where Sanchez enjoys the larger political support, with voting in the urban areas marking historically low turnout. The winning candidate is expected to be sworn in for a five – year term on 28 Jul.
Impact: Sanchez’s early lead is highly likely due to the vote counting being initially concentrated in the rural areas of Peru which signals further uncertainty in the election, as Fujimori is most likely betting on garnering support from urban voters. The low voter turnout is highly likely due to the population’s lack of trust in each and every other presidential candidate since Peru has exchanged 9 Presidents in the last 10 years. The vote would likely decide whether Peru would pivot towards the US through Fujimori, or China would maintain its majority influence in the country in case Sanchez wins. Either candidate would highly likely inherit a downtrodden economy, high crime rates, dissatisfied mining sector and high – levels of corruption which in turn would highly likely prolong the political crisis in the country.