Israel cheers victory of right-wing candidate in Peruvian presidential race, after she secured narrow lead during weeks-long ballot count.By World Israel News StaffKeiko Fujimori, the conservative Peruvian politician seen in Israel as a likely friendlier partner in Latin America, has pulled off a narrow come-from-behind victory in Peru’s presidential election, defeating leftist Roberto Sánchez after a slow, disputed count that hinged heavily on votes from Peruvians abroad.Israel quickly welcomed the result, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar congratulating Fujimori in Spanish and pointing to the prospect of closer ties between Jerusalem and Lima.“I wish you much success,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “Peru and Israel are close friends who share common values, and I trust that together we will continue strengthening our ties and promoting cooperation in many areas for the benefit of both peoples.”Fujimori’s victory was confirmed after Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes, known as ONPE, completed its count of 100 percent of ballots.The final tally gave Fujimori 50.135 percent, or 9,223,396 votes, to Sánchez’s 49.865 percent, or 9,173,755 votes — a margin of just 49,641 votes in a country of more than 18 million voters.The result marked a dramatic reversal from the days after the June 7 runoff, when Sánchez had overtaken Fujimori as rural and interior-region votes came in.Reuters reported on June 8 that Sánchez had moved ahead with 50.01 percent to Fujimori’s 49.9 percent, with 93.92 percent of ballots counted.Another Reuters account later put Sánchez at 50.10 percent to Fujimori’s 49.90 percent with 94.9 percent tallied, while warning that overseas ballots, expected to favor Fujimori, had not yet been fully counted.Those overseas ballots proved decisive.Fujimori regained the lead in mid-June, boosted by expatriate votes, and steadily expanded a razor-thin advantage as contested ballots were reviewed.By June 15, Reuters reported that she had retaken first place with 50.051 percent of the vote and a lead of just over 18,300 votes.The final map underscored the unusual shape of her comeback. El País reported that Sánchez actually won the vote inside Peru by 32,014 ballots, but Fujimori overcame that deficit with an 81,655-vote advantage among Peruvians living abroad. AP reported that more than 307,000 expatriate Peruvians voted in the runoff, with 65 percent backing Fujimori.The victory came on Fujimori’s fourth attempt at the presidency. She previously lost runoffs in 2011, 2016 and 2021, each by less than one percentage point, making this year’s narrow win both a personal comeback and a political revival for Fujimorismo, the movement built around her late father, former president Alberto Fujimori.Fujimori framed the outcome as a mandate to restore stability while acknowledging that Peru remains deeply fractured.“The ONPE has reached 100% of the tally sheets counted. All observations have now been resolved by the JEE. We await the JNE proclamation with great humility, prudence and responsibility,” she wrote after the final count. “We are getting closer and closer to beginning a path of order and hope for all Peruvians.”Earlier, as her lead became irreversible, Fujimori said she would seek to govern a country “practically split in two.” She pledged that from July 28, Peruvians would see “actions and decisions” aimed not only at restoring order, but also at confronting crime and bringing progress.Her campaign was built around a tough-on-crime message and a defense of Peru’s market-oriented economic model.Analysts at the Atlantic Council described her platform as rooted in two pillars of Fujimorismo: a hard-line security agenda inspired by her father’s campaign against domestic terrorism in the 1990s, and support for the free-market model that has underpinned Peru’s economic growth despite years of political chaos.That security-first worldview is also why Fujimori has been viewed as the more pro-Israel candidate in the race.The New Arab, writing before the final result, said the election presented Peru with two sharply different approaches to Israel and the Palestinians: a Sánchez administration would likely pull Lima closer to Latin America’s pro-Palestinian bloc, while a Fujimori presidency would likely “cement a security-first, pro-Israel line.”The outlet said Fujimori’s camp presents Israel as a model for combining modernization with advanced counterterrorism capabilities and would be expected to deepen security and intelligence ties with Israel and the United States.Sánchez has refused to concede, alleging fraud in the processing of overseas ballots. AP reported that his campaign sought to exclude ballots cast abroad, arguing that Peruvian consulates failed to use a mandated app to scan tally sheets. Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said electoral authorities had authorized a procedural change after technical problems with the app, allowing consulates to send ballots directly to Lima.“Under these conditions of transgression of the rules, we will not recognize the government of Miss Fujimori,” Sánchez said, according to AP.Reuters reported that Sánchez has alleged fraud without presenting evidence and has encouraged protests, raising the possibility that Peru’s political instability could continue even after the count. The National Electoral Jury is expected to formally proclaim the winner on July 3, while Fujimori is set to take office on July 28 as Peru’s tenth president since 2016.The post Pro-Israel candidate wins Peruvian presidency after late-count comeback appeared first on World Israel News.