With more than half the votes counted, Fujimori – the daughter of disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori – led with about 17% of the vote, according to electoral authorities.
The battle for second and a place in a June runoff was on a knife-edge, with millions of votes still to be counted and the count advancing at a trickle.
Rafael Lopez Aliaga, a wealthy former Lima mayor who has vowed to hunt down migrants, was on 14% of the vote.
His hardline policies and brutal style have sparked comparisons to US president Donald Trump.
At least two other candidates joined him in a statistical tie for second place including leftist Roberto Sanchez, a 57-year-old former trade minister.
The full results may not be known for days.
Irregularities
Sunday’s vote saw a series of logistical foul-ups in delivering election materials that caused polling centres to open hours late, while some remained shuttered all day.
Some 13 polling places in Lima were exceptionally ordered to open on Monday so that tens of thousands of voters could make their voice heard.
“The authorities are so incompetent,” said Nancy Gomez, a 56‑year‑old domestic worker who queued for hours at a polling station in the capital on Monday.
Police raided the headquarters of the National Office of Electoral Processes and later detained an election official over the delays.
Authorities said they also raided a private contractor blamed for failing to deliver election materials on time.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday filed a criminal complaint accusing several senior election officials of obstructing the electoral process and voters’ rights.
The complaint seeks the opening of a formal criminal investigation.
Among those named are election chief Piero Corvetto and several senior managers responsible for logistics and electoral technology.
Lopez Aliaga initially alleged “grave electoral fraud” and urged supporters to protest outside election offices.
Those claims eased as partial results placed him among the leading contenders for second place. Corvetto earlier acknowledged a “logistical problem” but rejected any suggestion of fraud.
“There is full assurance that the results will faithfully reflect the popular will,” he said.
The disorder overshadowed a vote many Peruvians had hoped would bring stability after years of political turmoil.
Peru has had eight presidents in a decade, alongside a sharp rise in violent crime.
Father’s shadow
On the eve of Sunday’s election, Fujimori told AFP she would “restore order” in her first 100 days if elected.
She has pledged to deploy the military to prisons, strengthen borders, and deport undocumented migrants.
The daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, she has leaned into nostalgia for her father’s strongman rule, despite his conviction for corruption and crimes against humanity.
He died in 2024 after serving 16 years in prison.