Garcia wins back power in Peru after bitter struggle

Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala
FORMER president Alan Garcia, whose last government left Peru mired in guerrilla violence and economic chaos, has won back office.

In a bitter contest, he defeated a fiery nationalist ex-soldier who had the backing of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Mr Garcia's lead of 55.5 per cent, against 44.5 percent for Ollanta Humala, with more than three-quarters of the vote cast was enough for Magdalena Chu, head of the electoral agency, to declare him the winner.

But the margin of victory was expected to narrow as results come in from more remote areas where Mr Humala is seen as stronger. Mr Garcia's win completed an extraordinary comeback for a silver-tongued orator whose name had been equated with political disaster.

"We've rescued independence," Mr Garcia, 57, told thousands of supporters in a victory speech even before official results were announced.

However, a defiant Mr Humala said: "We are the first force in Congress and we have won in the majority of Peru's states."