Keiko Fujimori tops Peru first-round vote

Keiko Fujimori, daughter of an ex-president jailed for massacres, won Peru`s first-round presidential vote on Sunday but not by enough to avoid a runoff in June, exit polls showed.
Fujimori won 37.8 percent of the vote according to a survey by Ipsos and 39.1 percent according to another pollster, CPI -- short of the majority needed to win outright.

Her two nearest rivals were virtually tied in second place in the Ipsos poll with 20.9 percent for center-right candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and 20.3 percent for left-wing lawmaker Veronika Mendoza.

CPI gave Kuczynski a thin lead in second place with 19.7 percent to 18.8 percent for Mendoza.

Official results expected over the coming hours will determine which of them will face Fujimori in a runoff on June 5.

Some 23 million Peruvians were called to vote in an election marred by alleged vote-buying and deadly attacks.

The 40-year-old daughter of former leader Alberto Fujimori survived attempts to ban her from the race and mistrust over her father`s legacy to top the polls in her bid to become Peru`s first female leader.

Observers complained that the electoral process was undermined when half the candidates dropped out or were excluded from the running under a tough new electoral law.
Fujimori and other leading candidates were accused of wooing voters with gifts. She and Kuczynski were cleared of the charges.
Source :AFP