The China Mail - Polls open as Peru picks ninth president in a decade

From the Amazon to the Andes, about 27 million Peruvians are obliged to vote.

The presidential field includes 35 candidates, among them a comedian, a media baron, an autocrat's daughter, and a hard‑line ex‑mayor who likens himself to a cartoon pig.

The ballot paper itself is almost half a meter long.

Conservative candidates led pre‑election polls, suggesting Peru may be the latest nation to welcome a tide of right‑wing governments sweeping Latin America.

The frontrunners have tried to outdo each other with promises to kill hitmen, hunt migrants and lock up delinquents in snake‑ringed jungle jails.

On the eve of the vote, frontrunner Keiko Fujimori told AFP she would "restore order" in her first 100 days: sending the army into jails, deporting illegal migrants and strengthening the border.

In the last decade, Peru's homicide rate has more than doubled. Reported extortion cases jumped more than eightfold, from 3,200 to 26,500 a year.

But many voters say they are also fed up with the political class, and with scandals and backstabbing that have seen a string of presidents removed and prosecuted.

The trend is so common that Peru even has a special jail for ex‑presidents.

"I wouldn't vote for anyone. I'm so disappointed with everyone in power," clothing merchant Maria Fernandez, 56, told AFP.

"We've been governed by nothing but corrupt, thieving scoundrels."

Pre‑election surveys show no candidate polling above 15 percent, far short of the 50 percent needed to win outright.

Barring an upset, a June runoff looks likely.

"I want people to vote for an honest president. That is what I want" said 60-year-old shopkeeper Anita Medrano.

"I won't say who I voted for. But not the old or traditional ones. Not them. They already had their chance."

The election will also decide the makeup of congress, which has played a central role in toppling recent leaders.

- Familiar name -

In an exclusive interview before election day, favorite Fujimori said she would forge a united front with conservative leaders in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia.

"We will ask for special powers -- powers to modernize police stations, and powers for the armed forces to help us control the prisons," she said.

"The armed forces will participate alongside the national police in controlling the borders. We will expel undocumented citizens."

This is Fujimori's fourth tilt at the presidency. Her father, former president Alberto Fujimori, died in 2024 after serving 16 years in prison for crimes against humanity, bribery, embezzlement and other charges.

During this campaign, she has tapped nostalgia for his strongman rule.

"I believe that time and history are giving my father the place he deserves," she said.

She faces a challenge from former Lima mayor Ricardo Belmont, 80, who has surged late on the back of a large TikTok following.

"He's collecting votes from left to right, like Pac‑Man," said Patricia Zarate of the Institute of Peruvian Studies.

Also running are TV comedian Carlos Alvarez and Rafael Lopez Aliaga, a far‑right ex‑mayor who has promised to "hunt" Venezuelans and calls himself "Porky."

Sociologist David Sulmont said Peru's election shows "a major disconnect" between voters and what politicians are offering.

Incumbent president Jose Maria Balcazar, who has been in power for less than two months, is barred from running.

Polls opened at 7:00 am local time and close at 5:00 pm.

F.Jackson--ThChM