Keiko Fujimori's party wins Senate presidency in Peru ahead of presidential inauguration

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LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Popular Force party, led by Peru’s President-elect Keiko Fujimori, won the Senate presidency on Sunday in an alliance with another conservative party, paving the way for the incoming government.

Miguel Torres was elected president of the Senate with 30 votes — out of a total of 60 senators— in alliance with the right-wing Popular Renewal party, whose member, Alejandro Muñante, won the first vice presidency.

After reinstating the bicameral system for the first time in more than three decades, Peru’s Congress is defining its leadership two days before Fujimori’s July 28 presidential inauguration for the 2026-2031 term.

The leadership of the lower house, composed of 130 deputies, will be elected in the upcoming hours.

Torres said during his swearing-in ceremony that the goal is to have a “more prudent” state and to regain the trust of its citizens.

The new bicameral Congress faces the challenge of overcoming the governance crisis that has prevailed in the Andean nation and has seen eight presidents come and go in the last decade. None of the political forces hold a majority.

Torres, a lawyer and politician with a legislative career from 2016 to 2020, will preside over the Senate for one year. He is also Peru’s second vice president-elect, having been elected in the recent elections alongside Fujimori and first vice president Luis Galarreta.

Peru’s Congress will officially begin its annual legislative session on Monday.