Tight contest in Peru as Fujimori daughter slips

[Judi Lynn]

Tight contest in Peru as Fujimori daughter slips
– Thu Jan 20, 2:23 am ET

LIMA (AFP) – Former Peruvian leader Alejandro Toledo heads a narrowing field of hopefuls ahead of April presidential elections, as polls show Keiko Fujimori, a young, rising star of Japanese descent, slipping.

Fujimori, the 35-year-old daughter of jailed former president Alberto Fujimori, initially topped opinion polls after throwing her hat into the ring last month for the April 10 presidential vote.

But in the three latest polls, Fujimori only registered 18-22 percent of the vote. This left her trailing Lima mayor Luis Castaneda (19-22 percent) and some distance behind Toledo, who was top with a 25-27 percent range.

The field of three will be narrowed to two for the second round of voting in June.

Current President Alan Garcia cannot legally run for a third term, while his ruling APRA party's official candidate Mercedes Araoz withdrew from the race on Sunday with desperately low ratings.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110120/wl_afp/peruvotejapan