Peru has begun printing ballots for its general elections, which are the largest in the country's electoral history, featuring 36 presidential candidates and scheduled for April 12. Parallel elections for the Senate, Congress, and Andean Parliament will also be held. Following a color test on Tuesday, which involved delegates from the various political parties and observers from national and international organizations, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), in charge of the elections, started printing the back of the ballot, after addressing observations on the front. The ballot, of which at least 27 million copies will be printed—including those needed for voters and a separate reserve package—is 44 centimeters long and 42 centimeters wide. Polls currently show that a large number of Peruvians have not yet committed to any candidate, amidst widespread discontent with the country's political class, which has seen eight presidents in nearly ten years. The leading candidates so far are Keiko Fujimori (Popular Force), the daughter and political heir of former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), with nearly 11%, and the ultraconservative former mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, followed by the center-left candidate Alfonso López Chau (Now Nation), with 5.5%. Over 27 million Peruvians are called to the polls to renew their national authorities for the 2026-2031 term, which includes the presidency and its two vice presidencies, 70 senators, 130 deputies, and 5 representatives to the Andean Parliament. The ballot is divided into five columns: the first lists the presidential candidates, the second is for national Senate lists, the third for provincial Senate lists, the fourth for provincial Congress lists, and the fifth and final column is for voting for the Andean Parliament. The order in which the political parties appear was defined in a draw held in February, where the left-wing coalition We Will Win took first place, with lawyer Ronald Atencio as its presidential candidate, while the centrist Purple Party, with former regional governor Mesías Guevara as its presidential hopeful, took the last spot. The general elections are scheduled for Sunday, April 12, and if no candidate obtains more than half of the votes, a second round will be held between the two top candidates on Sunday, June 7.
