Daughter of Peru’s disgraced Fujimori leads presidential poll

LIMA, Peru – Keiko Fujimori, daughter of disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori, is leading among candidates for Peru’s April 10 presidential election, a poll showed Wednesday, February 10.

The lawmaker, who is polling at 39%, is well ahead of her closest rival, Julio Guzman, who has 20% of the vote, according to the Datum poll published in the dailies Peru 21 and Gestion.

Following behind were economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (13%), billionaire Cesar Acuna (9%) and former president Alan Garcia (5%), according to the survey, which was conducted February 5-8 and has a margin of error of 2.8%.

If no one candidate wins 50% plus one, a second-round vote will be held in June.

Current President Ollanta Humala cannot seek a consecutive term.

Alberto Fujimori, 77, is currently serving a 25-year prison term for corruption and human rights violations

The ex-president, who also holds Japanese citizenship, was first jailed in 2007 and convicted in 2009 for his role in killings by a death squad that targeted supposed members of the Shining Path guerrilla group in the 1990s.

He has also been convicted of embezzlement and bribery.

His children have asked Humala to grant him a reprieve on health grounds. But the president rejected the request in 2013, saying medical reports indicated Fujimori’s condition was not sufficiently serious. – Rappler.com