Despite Ollanta Humala having won the first round of voting for the Peru presidency, second-place finisher—and runoff opponent—Keiko Fujimori now leads Humala ahead of the June 5 election according to three polls released over the weekend. One poll by the firm Datum predicts that Fujimori, of the Fuerza 2011 ticket, will win 53.4 percent of votes in the runoff, while her Gana Perú counterpart will register 46.6 percent. Peruvian citizens are mandated by law to vote, and the Datum survey notes that 13.8 percent of respondents said they would spoil their ballots or intentionally leave them blank.
Another poll, by Ipsos Apoyo, reveals a statistical tie between the two candidates: Fujimori has 51.1 percent and Humala 48.9 percent. According to this poll, Fujimori was the more preferred candidate on issues of democratic values, freedom of expression and private investment. To boost her security credentials, Fujimori is currently campaigning with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The Ipsos Apoyo also shows that Fujimori enjoys a majority support in Lima and areas in northern Peru, while Humala’s electoral base lies in southern, central and eastern areas of the country. The two runoff finalists are scheduled to debate each other in Lima on May 29.