Conservative Keiko Fujimori wins Peru’s presidential election in a run-off

Conservative politician Keiko Fujimori has been declared the winner of the presidential run-off election in Peru, which was dominated by people’s concerns over surging crime.

Ms Fujimori, 51, the daughter of a disgraced former president, was running for the presidency for the fourth time.

She will be Peru’s ninth president in 10 years when she takes office later this month.

The election win was certified on Friday by the country’s top election authority.

Figures released by election officials earlier in the week showed that with 100% of ballots tallied, Ms Fujimori received 9,223,000 votes, or 50.135% of the total, while nationalist congressman Roberto Sanchez earned over 9,173,000 votes, or 49.865%.

Ms Fujimori and Mr Sanchez made it to the June 7 run-off election after defeating 33 other candidates in an April vote.

Voters were primarily concerned with increasing levels of crime, especially extortion by violent organised crime gangs, and Ms Fujimori pledged to combat crime with an iron fist.

The winner is the daughter of the late Alberto Fujimori, the former president whose government in the 1990s defeated the Shining Path extremist rebel group but also took an authoritarian turn.

He was convicted in 2009 of human rights abuses in the fight against the rebels, and later of corruption charges.