Populist takes slight lead in Peru

LIMA, Peru – Three candidates were locked in a tight presidential election Sunday, with Peruvians so polarized over the candidacy of a nationalistic former army officer that he was taunted by hundreds of opponents as he cast his ballot.

Exit polls and early official results indicated an extremely close race, with a slight lead for Ollanta Humala, the former army officer. None of the candidates was expected to get more than 50 percent of the vote, and a runoff between the two top finishers is likely in late May or early June.

A victory for Humala, a political newcomer, could tilt this Andean nation leftward toward Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Humala’s main challengers – Alan Garcia, a former president, and Lourdes Flores, a former congresswoman – generally favor the free-market policies that have generated strong growth but little improvement in the lives of poor Peruvians.

With 30 percent of the vote counted, Humala had 27.6 percent, Flores had 26.7 percent and Garcia had 25.7 percent.

A 43-year-old populist, Humala has raised fears among many middle- and upper-class Peruvians by identifying with Chavez, Venezuela’s militantly anti-U.S. president.

Protesters trapped the former army lieutenant colonel and his wife for nearly an hour at their Lima polling station with chants of “Assassin” and “You’re the same as Chavez.” A few threw rocks.