Peru elects president this Sunday from among 35 candidates

Published at: 12/04/2026 11:16 AM

More than 27 million Peruvians are participating this Sunday in the general elections to elect the next president, vice-presidents, senators, deputies and representatives to the Andean Parliament.

This process represents the first major electoral event since 2021, when the country began a period of high political instability after the triumph and subsequent dismissal of Pedro Castillo, followed by the successive efforts of Dina Boluarte, José Jerí and the current president, José María Balcázar, reports the Prensa Latina web portal.

The day stands out for its unprecedented political fragmentation: 35 presidential formulas are competing, twice as many as in the previous elections. With this figure, Peru leads the ranking of South American countries with the highest number of presidential candidates in a single election.

To ensure the peaceful development of the votes, more than 100,000 troops will ensure security. Polling stations are scheduled to close at 5:00 in the afternoon . Once the voting stations close, the processing of minutes will begin. The head of the National Office for Electoral Processes (ONPE), Piero Corvetto, said that the count will reach approximately 60% at midnight this Sunday.

As in the last three elections, the right-wing Keiko Fujimori (Popular Force) is one of the most recognized figures. In the same ideological segment, the former mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga ( Popular Renewal), and the former governor of La Libertad, César Acuña (Alliance for Progress), stand out.

On the left, the party that brought Castillo to power, Free Peru, is running for Vladimir Cerrón, who has been a fugitive from justice for more than two years; the electoral alliance Venceremos goes with Ronald Atencio; while Together for Peru empowered Roberto Sánchez, who, with a hat in hand, seeks to collect the 'Castillista' vote.

Mazo News Team