Leftist
presidential candidate in Peru closes gap with Flores: poll
AFP
LIMA
Petroleumworld.com
03 14 06
Former military officer Ollanta Humala is now running neck-and-neck
with conservative candidate Lourdes Flores in the latest opinion
poll ahead of Peru's presidential vote next month.
A nationwide Apoyo poll issued Monday showed Humala had closed
the gap with Flores with the two candidates in a statistical tie
for first place before the April 9 vote, with 30 and 31 percent
support respectively. It predicted an eventual victory by Flores
in a run-off vote.
An upset by Humala would add one more name to the expanding roster
of leftist leaders in Latin America, which already includes Michele
Bachelet of Chile and Evo Morales of Bolivia.
Leading the way is outspoken Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, an ardent
critic of the United States who has been accused of interfering
in Peruvian affairs by voicing support for Humala.
The poll of 2,000 respondents, conducted March 8-10, has a margin
of error of 2.2 percent.
It showed former president Alan Garcia in third place with 22
percent. Former president Valentin Paniagua, and Martha Chavez,
representing the party of former president Alberto Fujimori, trailed
with five percent each.
Humala, leader of the Peruvian Nationalist Party, barely registered
in polls taken in August and September but shot to first place
in December. He later fell back, only to regain popularity over
the last week.
A former lieutenant colonel in Peru's army, Humala was forced
into exile and then retirement after mounting an uprising against
Fujimori in October 2000.
His brother Antauro Humalla, also a former soldier, is in jail
for leading subsequent uprisings by the obscure ultra-nationalist
"Etnocacerista Movement," named after a Peruvian war
hero.
If no candidate wins 50 percent in the April 9 vote, a run-off
will be held between the two top vote-getters.
AFP
03 13 06
Copyright
© 2006 AFP. All rights reserved.
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