Right-wing Fujimori holds narrow lead one week before Peru presidential runoff, polls show

LIMA, May 31 - Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds a narrow lead over leftist Roberto Sanchez one week before Peru's presidential runoff, two polls showed on Sunday.

Fujimori is expected to take 38% of the votes while Sanchez is predicted to secure 35% in the runoff on June 7, according to the Ipsos poll conducted May 29-30 and published in the local newspaper Peru 21.

Support for Fujimori fell by one percentage point compared to the previous Ipsos poll, while Sanchez maintained the same level of support. The number of people who said they would not vote for any candidate or would spoil their ballot increased by one percentage point to 27%.

"The big question in the final week is what undecided voters or those who say they plan to cast a blank or invalid ballot will do," said Alfredo Torres, CEO of Ipsos. "The logic of choosing the lesser evil will ultimately determine who will be president of Peru for the 2026-2031 term."

Another poll, conducted May 26-30 by Datum Internacional and published in the local newspaper El Comercio, showed Fujimori securing 39.8% of the vote and Sanchez taking 35.9%.

Fujimori, late former President Alberto Fujimori's daughter who is running for the fourth time, won the first round on April 12 with 17% of votes. Sanchez, an ally of jailed former leftist President Pedro Castillo, narrowly secured a place in the runoff with 12% of votes.

Both candidates will take part in a debate later on Sunday.

Ipsos' poll had a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points while Datum Internacional had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. REUTERS