MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fujimori with significant political support in Peru

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, currently in custody in Chile, would be the second hopeful in a run off with leading presidential candidate Lourdes Flores, if he was allowed to participate in the April 2006 general election, according to an opinion poll from Datum published last Tuesday in Lima.

The poll taken among 1.188 people in twelve Peruvian cities with a minus/plus 3% error margin presents two possible scenarios, one with Fujimori running and another without him.

In the first case conservative candidate Lourdes Flores has a 25% vote intention followed by Fujimori with 17%. The two would then have to face a run off in May.

In this hypothesis former president Alan Garcia would manage 14% and the other former president Valentin Paniagua 12%, the same as ultranationalist Ollanta Humala.

But if Mr. Fujimori effectively is barred from running, Flores would have 30% of the vote, Mr. García 16%, Mr. Paniagua 15% and Mr. Humala 12%.

The opinion poll was done between November 12 and 15, that is after Mr. Fujimori left his safe refuge in Japan and travelled to Chile where he has been in custody since last November 7.

The poll also shows that 27% of Peruvians approve of former president Fujimori's performance while an overwhelming 69% reject him. It's a similar situation with former president García who last Monday made his candidacy official and has an approval rating of 26% and a 69% rejection.

Mr. Fujimori who ruled Peru between 1990 and 2000 faces 22 charges in Peru for human rights abuse and corruption. Additionally Congress and the Electoral Board have barred him from running for office until 2011.