(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The mayor of Lima and the daughter of a jailed former president are currently the frontrunners in the race to become the next head of state of Peru, according to a poll by Ipsos, Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado published in El Comercio. 22 per cent of respondents would vote for Luis Castañeda Lossio of the National Solidarity Party (PSN) in next year’s ballot, down one point since January.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The mayor of Lima and the daughter of a jailed former president are currently the frontrunners in the race to become the next head of state of Peru, according to a poll by Ipsos, Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado published in El Comercio. 22 per cent of respondents would vote for Luis Castañeda Lossio of the National Solidarity Party (PSN) in next year’s ballot, down one point since January.
Keiko Sofía Fujimori of Strength 2011 is a close second with 21 per cent, up three points. Ollanta Humala of the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP) is in third place with 13 per cent, followed by former president Alejandro Toledo with nine per cent. Support is lower for conservative candidate Lourdes Flores Nano, television personality and writer Jaime Bayly, and former prime minister Jorge del Castillo. 22 per cent of respondents remain undecided.
In June 2006, Alan García—a member of the American Revolutionary People’s Alliance (APRA)—won Peru’s presidential election in a run-off against Humala. In July, García officially took over as president. He had previously served as Peru’s head of state from 1985 to 1990, when he oversaw a major economic crisis.
In April 2009, Alberto Fujimori was found guilty "beyond all reasonable doubt" of four charges laid against him—including misuse of public funds, kidnapping and murder—and sentenced to serve 25 years in prison. In September, Fujimori was handed a new six-year sentence, this time for corruption.
Vladimiro Montesinos, Fujimori’s closest advisor and the head of Peru’s National Intelligence Service (SIN) during his decade-long tenure, has been convicted in 13 different trials for crimes such as plotting against national security, arms dealing and embezzlement. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Peru and awaiting a verdict on other 50 or so processes against him.
On Feb. 24, Humala accused the current president of planning an electoral fraud for next year’s election, declaring, "García said that he can prevent someone from becoming president. That’s an announcement of electoral fraud. Him, as president, is going to use his power (…) to prevent nationalism from reaching the top."
Polling Data
If the 2011 presidential election were held tomorrow, who would you vote for?
|
|
Feb. 2010
|
Jan. 2010
|
Dec. 2009
|
|
Luis Castañeda Lossio
|
22%
|
23%
|
23%
|
|
Keiko Sofía Fujimori
|
21%
|
18%
|
20%
|
|
Ollanta Humala
|
13%
|
15%
|
11%
|
|
Alejandro Toledo
|
9%
|
9%
|
10%
|
|
Lourdes Flores Nano
|
6%
|
7%
|
8%
|
|
Jaime Bayly
|
5%
|
2%
|
n.a.
|
|
Jorge del Castillo
|
2%
|
2%
|
–
|
|
Other / Blank / Undecided
|
22%
|
24%
|
28%
|
Source: Ipsos, Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado / El Comercio
Methodology: Interviews with 1,200 Peruvian adults, conducted on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, 2010. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.
