Leftist congressman Roberto Sanchez has taken a slim lead against conservative Keiko Fujimori in Peru's presidential race on Monday (June 8)as official vote-counting continued into a second day, sending markets and mining stocks lower.

With about 94% of votes tallied, Sanchez rose to 50.01%, while Fujimori dropped to 49.99%. Voters cast ballots in the election on Sunday (June 7) against a backdrop of a rightward shift in Latin America.

Fujimori led early results and exit polls, but Sanchez has been gaining ground since Sunday night in the vote count, as ballots from Peru's rural regions continue to be counted.

"We are confident and optimistic. But, as is proper, the full count is still underway," Sanchez said on Monday, speaking to reporters at Congress moments before the race flipped. "What comes next is working for the country because Peru's political instability needs to stop."

Earlier in the day, outside her home in Lima on Monday, Fujimori said she was calm and called for patience.

"I think we have to wait until the end. As I said yesterday, each ballot record is going to be very important, so I think what is appropriate in these moments is patience," Fujimori said. Several international polling station have yet to be counted, which are expected to favor Fujimori.

Sanchez has vowed a significant overhaul to Peru's economic system, which has proved resilient despite the country's political turmoil.

Peru's ONPE electoral authority said a full count was expected to be completed by July.

Peru's political turmoil has led to a revolving door of presidents. The winner of the election will become Peru's ninth president in the past decade. Congress has removed three presidents in the past five years.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

LIMA, PERU (JUNE 8, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ROBERTO SANCHEZ, APPROACHING TO PRESS

2. SANCHEZ ASKING JOURNALISTS TO STAY CALM

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ROBERTO SANCHEZ, SAYING:

"First and foremost, we need to remain calm and composed. Important results from the quick count have already been published, and we appreciate that support. We are confident and optimistic. But, as is proper, the full count is still underway. So, what should we do? We should do what's required. Everyone should do their job. We have our representatives and our technical teams. We are very confident and optimistic. But the concrete reality is that we must wait for the release of the full results."

4. SANCHEZ LISTENING TO PRESS

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, ROBERTO SANCHEZ, SAYING:

"I think consensus is important from my perspective, to recover democratic standards and to call for social peace, for the fight against the number one enemy that Peru has, which is corruption, poverty. So we make that categorical call to all political and economic actors, to our opponents. This campaign is about to end. We have to respect the result, whatever it may be, Peru needs stability."

6. SANCHEZ LEAVING

LIMA, PERU (JUNE 8, 2026) (CANAL 7 - No use Peru)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, KEIKO FUJIMORI, SAYING:

"I'm happy, grateful, of course, to all Peruvians, to God. I think we have to wait until the end. As I said yesterday, each ballot record is going to be very important, so I think what is appropriate in these moments is patience and a lot of serenity. I also make a call to the representatives, no longer the polling station representatives but the legal representatives, of which we have more than 100. Deployed throughout Peru, they are going to have to fight, analyse each of these ballot records and, well, we are going to have to wait and respect the results, whoever the winner may be."

8. WHITE FLASH

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, KEIKO FUJIMORI, SAYING:

"One of my traits is my calm, not my serenity; so we are going to wait until the very end and that is what I hope, that all Peruvians, I have a lot of faith. And a lot of gratitude."

10. WHITE FLASH

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, KEIKO FUJIMORI, SAYING:

"I believe that all political leaders who have parties represented in parliament have to engage in dialogue (in case of Sanchez winning)."

INTERNET (JUNE 8, 2026) (NATIONAL OFFICE OF ELECTORAL PROCESSES (ONPE) - Access all) (MUTE)

12. SCREENSHOT OF PERUVIAN ELECTORAL BODY WEBPAGE SHOWING VOTES FOR CANDIDATE ROBERTO SANCHEZ AT 50.033% AND CANDIDATE KEIKO FUJIMORI AT 49.967%