Nationalist Humala leads in Peru's election

LIMA
Nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala was leading Peru's presidential elections on Sunday, exit surveys of voters showed.

Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala (Xinhua)

Humala, a former army commander, had 30.9 percent of the vote, candidate Lourdes Flores attained 24.5 percent and Former President Alan Garcia was in third place with 23.3 percent.

The figures, conducted by the Apoyo opinion research agency, were compiled using unofficial voting results from Peru's major cities. Apoyo said its numbers were based on the results of 59.2 of the country's polling stations.

If no candidate attains more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates will meet in a second round of voting in May. Enditem

Profile: Peru's leading presidential candidates

LIMA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Peru is set to hold presidential election on Sunday. Following are profiles of the three leading presidential candidates.

-- Ollanta Humala, candidate for the Peru's Nationalist Party, has a leading support rate of 28-34 percent in the latest poll.

Humala, leader of Peru's Nationalist Party, was born on June 27,1963 in Lima and is the third of eight children of Issac Humala Nunez and Elena Tasso. He studied in Lima's La Union college and obtained doctor's degree of sociology in France.

He joined the military in 1982. He fought in Tingo Maria against the Shining Path in 1992. He led the uprising In October 2000 against then President Alberto Fujimori. He was jailed when the coup failed, but pardoned by new president Alejandro Toledo.

Humala has pledged to cancel a free-trade agreement with Washington, increase state control over Peru's mining and natural gas industries and levy a windfall tax on companies that earn "excessive" profits.

He married with educator Nadine Heredia, and they have two daughters.

-- Lourdes Flores Nano, is a candidate from the National Unity Alliance. Recent polls gave her 26-28 percent of the vote.

Flores, born on Oct. 7, 1959 in Lima, gained doctor's degree in the Pontificial Universidad Catolica del Peru and doctorate in Madrid University.

She worked as a civil and commercial lawyer. She was councilor of Lima during the late 1980s, and was first elected as a deputy in 1990, and once in parliament, she worked to defend the rights of women and fight against military amnesties.

She served as a congresswoman from 1992 to 2000, and first ran for president in 2001. In 1992, the World Economic Forum listed her among its list of 200 young world leaders, and in 1999 Time magazine listed her as one of Ibero-America's 100 leaders for the 21st century. She is the leader of the National Unity Alliance.

Latest polls showed she would be the favorite in the second round, but she is only narrowly ahead of the third-placed contender. She supports negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the United States and promotes micro-credit and training for small business owners. Flores will be Peru's first woman president if she wins the election.

-- Alan Garcia, former President, gained 21-26 percent of the vote in the latest poll.

Garcia, born on may 23, 1949 in lima, was educated in the Law Department of Catholic University in Lima and the National University of San Marcos. He became a lawyer in 1972 and then continued to study in Spain, France, Britain and the Netherlands. He gained a doctor's degree in law and sociology.

Garcia joined the People's Party after returning home in 1976. He was elected member of the constituent assembly in 1978, and member of the chamber of deputies in 1980. He was elected president of Peru from 1985 to 1990.

He has pledged to scrap any free-trade deal with the United States and raise taxes on the mining industry, the main engine of Peru's economy.