MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uribe leads opinion polls for May presidential election

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe remains the leading candidate for a second four-year term next month, though he has been sliding in opinion polls and according to the latest survey might have to face a run off.

A public opinion poll released Thursday shows President Uribe with 55.7% support for the May 28 presidential election, but down from the 64.1% last month. The poll's 4% margin of error means that Mr. Uribe might face a runoff, which would be held in June if no candidate garners 50% of the vote plus one in the first round.

Medellin's El Colombiano newspaper, a member of the media group Invamer Gappup, that commissioned the poll said that "what stands out the most is that the intention to vote for the head of government has been steadily declining since July last year, when he had a 70.2% support".

President Uribe can run for re-election because he managed to have a Constitutional amendment approved by Congress in 2004, which was later ratified by the Constitutional Court the following year.

A distant runner up in the opinion polls is former minister and diplomat Horacio Serpa, from the Liberal Party with 17.9% supports, down from 19.6% a month ago.

But the third hopeful from the Alternative Democratic Pole's, Senator Carlos Gaviria has seen his support balloon from 4 to 14.3% in just a couple of months.

Former Bogotá Mayor Antanas Mockus, a philosopher and mathematician, took fourth place with 2.8% vote intention.

The poll was conducted among 1.200 registered voters, April 19/23 in Colombia's four largest cities, Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla, plus another 58 municipalities.