Lima: Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the late former president Alberto Fujimori, has announced her candidacy for the Peruvian presidential elections scheduled for April. This announcement comes shortly after Peru's Constitutional Court dismissed money laundering charges against her.
According to Thai News Agency, Fujimori has been a contender in Peru's last three presidential elections, consistently finishing in second place. Her most recent campaign was in 2021, where she was defeated by Pedro Castillo. Castillo was later impeached and arrested in 2022 following his attempt to dissolve Congress. Fujimori previously lost to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2016 and Ollanta Humala in 2011.
This election marks Fujimori's first campaign following the death of her father in September 2024. Alberto Fujimori, the former president, passed away months after receiving a humanitarian pardon. He had served 16 years of a 25-year sentence for human rights violations during his presidency from 1990 to 2000.
The Constitutional Court recently dismissed an investigation into Keiko Fujimori concerning illegal campaign financing in 2011 and 2016. The court ruled the money laundering charge could not be applied retroactively, as it was added to the criminal code in November 2016. Fujimori had been held in pre-trial detention for nearly 17 months during the investigation.
Earlier this year, a court overturned a previous trial and sent it back to trial. Prosecutors are seeking a 35-year prison sentence, alleging Fujimori's party and associates received up to $17 million from various sources, including Brazil's Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, and Peruvian financial holding company Credicorp.