Peru's staid presidential race goes topsy-turvy

[Judi Lynn]

Peru's staid presidential race goes topsy-turvy
Teresa Cespedes and Terry Wade
Reuters
12:51 p.m. EDT, March 23, 2011

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's once staid presidential race has turned into an unpredictable five-way contest that is rattling local financial markets as front-runner Alejandro Toledo plunges in polls.

Toledo, a former president who only a month ago had seemingly locked up the race, has slipped nearly 10 percentage points in polls. He is now technically tied with two candidates from opposite ends of the political spectrum less than three weeks before the April 10 vote.

In a poll published on Wednesday by local survey firm CPI, Toledo was at 20.5 percent, only half a percentage point ahead of lawmaker and right-wing populist Keiko Fujimori, daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori.

A poll by Datum published on Sunday showed Toledo at 20.3 percent, ahead of left-wing nationalist Ollanta Humala by only 1.7 points -- within the poll's margin of error.

More:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-rt-international-us-petre72m63m-20110323,0,7506638.story

[rabs]

1. So, will Humala make it

into the second round? Looks like it will be a nail-biter in the primary. I would not be unhappy if Toledo does not beat Keiko and Humala in the first round and is elimated from the runoff. That Garcia-Toledo-Garcia-Toledo disgrace is pissing off a lot of Peruvians who want to throw out both corruptos.

A few months ago it did not seem like Humala could make up as much ground as he has. Back then he was in single digets and it looks like he is peaking at the right time.