2026 Peruvian general election

General elections were held in Peru on 12 April 2026. This was after proposals to bring them forward to 2023 or 2024 due to the 2022–2023 Peruvian protests were rejected. The presidential elections will determine the president and the vice presidents, while the congressional elections will determine the composition of the Congress of Peru, which will return to being a bicameral legislature with a 60-seat Senate and 130-seat Chamber of Deputies. A record of 34 registered candidates entered the presidential race by December 2025. The last president, José Jerí, was removed from office in February 2026 by way of censure by a majority vote in Congress. In the months before the election, the power of Congress over the executive and judiciary was documented by observers who noted the importance of a new legislature.

The election is being held after a prolonged period of political instability that began well before the current electoral cycle. During the presidencies of Ollanta Humala, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Martín Vizcarra, the Congress was dominated by the opposition Popular Force, the party created by the daughter of the former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori, and opposed many of the actions performed by the presidents. Fujimorists in Congress "earned a reputation as hardline obstructionists for blocking initiatives popular with Peruvians aimed at curbing the nation's rampant corruption" according to the Associated Press.

Following the 2021 Peruvian general election, far right parties, including Go on Country, Popular Force and Popular Renewal, gained control of Congress. After left-wing presidential candidate Pedro Castillo won the presidency, Fujimori and her supporters made claims of electoral fraud, leading obstructionist efforts to overturn the election with support of citizens in Lima. Many business groups and politicians refused to recognize Castillo's ascent to the presidency, with those among the more affluent, including former military officers and wealthy families, demanded new elections, promoted calls for a military coup, and used rhetoric to support their allegations of fraud. From the beginning of his presidency, Castillo was targeted by Congress, whom made it clear that they wanted to remove him from office by impeachment.

Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the Constitution of Peru (1993), Congress can impeach the president on the vague grounds of "moral incapacity", effectively making the legislature more powerful than the executive branch. Congress, which had already attempted to impeach Castillo twice, began a third process of impeachment in late 2022. On 7 December 2022, Castillo attempted a self-coup, dissolving Congress as well as the Judiciary bodies, imposing a curfew, and establishing an emergency government. He was arguing that the legislative body, which had obstructed many of his policies, was serving oligopolistic businesses and had colluded with the Constitutional Court of Peru to undermine the executive branch, thereby creating a "congressional dictatorship". The move was rejected by state institutions and he was removed from office and arrested. Two months after Castillo was removed, Congress would obtain nearly absolute control of Peru's government when the Constitutional Court, whose members were directly chosen by Congress, removed judicial oversight of the legislative body.

Castillo's vice president, Dina Boluarte, assumed the presidency amid the widespread protests against her government. Following her ascension to the presidency, Boluarte aligned herself with the far-right Congress. She was described by analysts as authoritarian due to her crackdown on demonstrations, with human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the National Coordinator for Human Rights criticizing her administration's response, especially after the Ayacucho and Juliaca massacres. Although proposals were repeatedly introduced to bring forward the scheduled 2026 vote, they were rejected by Congress. In October 2025, Boluarte was removed from office by Congress on "moral incapacity" grounds amid mounting public anger over insecurity and corruption allegations.

In his position in the order of succession, president of Congress José Jerí succeeded Boluarte, initially assumed the presidency leading into the 2026 elections. Jerí became Peru's seventh president in nine years. However, in February 2026, José Jerí was removed from office by Congress for holding undisclosed meetings with Zhihua Yang, a Chinese businessman under scrutiny from the Peruvian government. He was succeeded by José María Balcázar, who was elected by Congress to serve as president of Congress and thus made president of Peru.

The campaign has taken shape amid heightened public concern over citizen security, organized crime, persistent distrust in political institutions, and ongoing debates about corruption and economic governance. Concerns about the power Congress held over the executive and judiciary branches were also noted by observers, with Will Freeman of the Council on Foreign Relations warning that Congress was attempting to build a "mafia state" in the run up to the elections.

A return to a bicameral legislative system was also established by Congress, which includes 130 seats for deputies and 60 seats for senators. Deputies serve as the lower house tasked with presenting legislative bills and providing oversight of the Cabinet of Peru, having more responsibility over political objectives. Senators represent the upper house and hold more institutional control; they review bills presented by deputies and are responsible for electing the directors of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, the members of the Constitutional Court, the Comptroller General, Ombudsman of Peru and other institutional leaders. Upper house senators also hold the power to approve certain functions of the executive, such as foreign travel, and the ability to remove the president.

The president is elected using the two-round system. The first round voting allows eligible voters to vote for any viable presidential candidate. The top two candidates who receive a plurality of the vote proceed to the run-off election. The winner of the run-off election and the presidential election is the candidate who receives a plurality of the popular vote. However, if in the first round the candidate who is in the first place already gets more than 50% of the popular vote, that candidate will automatically win the election and a run-off election will no longer be needed.

The 130 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected in 27 multi-member constituencies using open list proportional representation. To enter Congress, parties must either cross the 5% electoral threshold at the national level, or win at least seven seats in one constituency. Seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method. The 60 senators are elected through two systems, with 30 elected in a single nationwide constituency through proportional representation and 30 elected from the 27 constituencies used for the Chamber of Deputies, with Lima province electing four senators and the other 26 constituencies electing one each. Peru has five seats in the Andean Parliament, which are elected using a common constituency by open list proportional representation.

The following nominees have filed to run at the National Jury of Elections once having won their respective primaries:

• Paul Jaimes (Progresemos), former General Secretary of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation
• Carlos Jaico (Modern Peru), former General Secretary of the Presidency
• Ronald Atencio (Venceremos Electoral Alliance), lawyer
• Álvaro Paz de la Barra (Faith in Peru), former Mayor of La Molina
• Francisco Diez Canseco Távara (Peru Action), former Member of the Chamber of Deputies
• Alex Gonzales (Democratic Green Party), former Mayor of San Juan de Lurigancho
• Charlie Carrasco (United Peru Democratic Party), lawyer
• Armando Massé (Federal Democratic Party), medical surgeon
• Herbert Caller (Patriotic Party of Peru), naval engineer
• Walter Chirinos (PRIN Political Party), lawyer
• Rosario Fernández Bazán (A Different Path)
• Antonio Ortiz Villano (Let's Save Peru)

• Francisco Sagasti (Purple Party), former President of Peru

• Verónika Mendoza (New Peru), former Member of Congress

• Carla García (Peruvian Aprista Party), communicator and writer. Declined in order to run as running mate of Javier Velásquez in the primary election.

• Alberto Fujimori (Popular Force), former President of Peru. Died on 11 September 2024.

• Carlos Añaños (Modern Peru), businessman and founder of Ajegroup. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Antauro Humala (ANTAURO), leader of Ethnocacerism. Party disqualified on 31 October 2024 by the Supreme Court of Peru.

• Rómulo Mucho Mamani (Modern Peru), former Minister of Energy and Mines. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Susel Paredes (First The People – Community, Ecology, Liberty, and Progress), Member of Congress. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Fernando Cillóniz (Christian People's Party), former Governor of Ica. Party ended candidacy in the aftermath of an interview in which the candidate revealed ties to Odebrecht.

• Javier González Olaechea (Christian People's Party), former Minister of Foreign Relations. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Guido Bellido (Conscience People), former Prime Minister of Peru. Party failed to register with the National Jury of Elections on time to qualify for the general election.

• Aníbal Torres (Forward United People), former Prime Minister of Peru Party failed to register with the National Jury of Elections on time to qualify for the general election.

• Duberlí Rodríguez (Popular Unity), former Chief Justice of Peru Party failed to register with the National Jury of Elections on time to qualify for the general election.

• Ciro Gálvez (National United Resurgence), former Minister of Culture Party failed to register with the National Jury of Elections on time to qualify for the general election.

• Óscar Valdés (Christian People's Party), former Prime Minister of Peru Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Hernando de Soto (Progresemos), economist and former 2021 presidential candidate. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Carlos Neuhaus (Christian People's Party), former Chairman of the 2019 Pan American Games Organizing Committee. Party chose Roberto Chiabra as presidential nominee in coalition with the Unity and Peace Party.

• Zósimo Cárdenas (Battle Peru), Governor of Junín. Party coalesced with Modern Force's Fiorella Molinelli as presidential nominee.

• Carlos Anderson (Modern Peru), Member of Congress. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Pedro Guevara (Modern Peru), architect and consultant. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Arturo Fernández Bazán (A Different Path), former Mayor of Trujillo. Sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for defamation by the Judiciary.

• Guillermo Bermejo (People's Voices), Member of Congress. Sentenced to fifteen years in prison for terrorism affiliation by the Judiciary.

• Phillip Butters (Go on Country – Social Integration Party), journalist and TV host. Ineligible to run in the presidential election due to resignation from party membership after the registration deadline.

• Napoleón Becerra (Workers and Entrepreneurs Party), municipal union leader. He died in a car accident on 15 March 2026.

The primary concerns among voters in the election were corruption and crime, though with extortion and homicides increasing greatly since the previous election, security became the main concern for voters.

Extortion crimes increased 1,000% between 2023 and 2025, with gangs targeting schools, small businesses and transportation workers, killing workers who refuse to pay protection payments. Between 2019 and 2024, the national homicide rate grew 200% and in 2025, about 33% of people reported knowing someone affected by extortion. Over 500 schools in Peru faced extortion, 325 were closed due to threats and in some instances, schools began accounting for extortion payments in their budgets. In 2025, over 50 transportation drivers in Lima and surrounding areas were murdered, reportedly related to extortion conflicts. According to experts, the causes of the increase of crime include economic difficulties following the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, the political crisis in Peru, the expansion of foreign gangs and corrupt police cooperating with gangs. States of emergencies were declared and troops were deployed onto streets, though this resulted in no change in crime rates. In a notable event, the Círculo Militar de Chorrillos shooting occurred when a gang attempting to extort the cumbia band Agua Marina fired their guns at the band while on stage on 8 October 2025, with the shooting leading to the impeachment of Dina Boluarte as some argued her crime prevention policies being ineffective.

The growth of crime resulted in extreme positions by some political candidates. Front-runner Keiko Fujimori proposed having those incarcerated perform jobs in order to eat, stating "We will force prisoners to work for their food". Carlos Alvarez described himself as "the Peruvian Bukele", and said that if in office, he would designate all criminals as military targets subject to death if they did not surrender, saying "to hell with the human rights of criminals". Rafael Lopez Aliaga proposed capturing criminals, helicoptering them into prisons in the Amazon rainforest and having the jails surrounded by South American bushmaster vipers. Lopez Aliaga also proposed greater cooperation with the United States on crime, approving American troops to apprehend criminals in Peru and sending prisoners to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador.

Source: ONPE

• Robertson, Khalea (2026). "Peru Elects 2026: Ongoing Coverage of the Presidential Race—The First Round of Debates". Americas Society - Council of the Americas AS/COA.
• Robertson, Khalea (24 March 2026). "By the Numbers: What's at Stake in Peru's 2026 Elections". Americas Society - Council of the Americas AS/COA.
• Elecciones Generales 12 de abril de 2026 (National Office of Electoral Processes' official election website, in Spanish)
• Voto Informado (National Jury of Elections' official website on candidates, in Spanish)
• Voting Simulator (platform developed by Radio Programas del Perú)
• Voting Simulator (platform developed by IDEA and El Comercio)
• Comparaencuestas (comparison of polls from major polling firms, platform developed by La Encerrona)
• Poll Tracker: Peru's 2026 Presidential Election (poll tracker developed by the Americas Society - Council of the Americas)
• Votar Es Clave (election education platform developed by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, in Spanish)