Keiko Fujimori announced on social media that her father, 85-year-old former dictator Alberto Fujimori, will be the presidential candidate in the 2026 elections for the political party Popular Force. “My father and I have talked and decided together that he will be the [presidential] candidate,” said the founder of Popular Force.

Alberto Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for human rights violations and embezzlement. Former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski granted him a pardon in 2017 due to the former president’s alleged poor health. However, in 2018 the Judiciary annulled the humanitarian pardon and Fujimori returned to prison. Despite this, in December 2018, Peru’s Constitutional Court allowed him to be released from prison through a reinstatement of the previous humanitarian pardon.

Several experts claim that the former dictator’s participation would be not be permitted under Peruvian law.

However, other experts fear that the law could be interpreted in such a way that Fujimori could be a candidate.