A recent poll from Ipsos Peru, carried out between March 21 and 22 and published by Peru21, places Keiko Fujimori and Rafael Lopez Aliaga at the front of voter preferences in Peru's presidential campaign. Fujimori registered 11% support while Lopez Aliaga received 10%, a margin the pollster describes as a technical tie in a race that includes 35 candidates.
The survey was completed before a series of televised debates that began this week. Fujimori - a former congresswoman and the daughter of ex-President Alberto Fujimori, who was imprisoned for human rights abuses - is scheduled to take part in a debate on Wednesday night. This marks her fourth presidential bid.
Both Fujimori and Lopez Aliaga represent strains of the populist right, the poll shows, and they occupy the top of the ballot despite a fragmented field. A second tier of candidates appears clustered well behind the leaders: left-wing hopefuls Alfonso Lopez Chau and Roberto Sanchez each drew 5% support in the Ipsos survey, followed by comedian Carlos Alvarez and centrist sociologist Jorge Nieto, the latter of whom has climbed in polling over the preceding two weeks.
Peru's political environment has been marked by rapid leadership changes in recent years. Since 2018 the country has passed through eight presidents, and the most recent president was removed by Congress in February - mere weeks before the official campaign period began.
The Ipsos poll also found that roughly 36% of respondents were either undecided or said they would not vote for any candidate, leaving substantial room for shifts in voter intentions as the campaign unfolds. "Late swings in voting intentions remain plausible," said Nicholas Watson, managing director at consultancy Teneo. He added: "The two most competitive candidates are on the right," underscoring how much remains unsettled with many voters still unsure.
Survey results from Ipsos mirror a recent Datum Internacional poll published in March, the release noted. Given that no candidate is projected to clear the 50% threshold in the first round, a runoff election on June 7 is likely. The winner of the contest is scheduled to take office on July 28.
Polling highlights and the campaign timetable provide the current factual frame for the contest: two right-leaning candidates lead modestly in a crowded field, a sizable share of voters remain undecided, and the mechanics of Peru's electoral system make a June runoff the probable next step toward a July 28 inauguration.