MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kuczynski leads opinion polls for the June 5 Peruvian presidential runoff

PPK is projected to win with 43% of the vote ahead of Fujimori's 39%, according to the latest Ipsos public opinion poll conducted between April 20 and 22.

Former World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski continues to hold his lead over conservative Keiko Fujimori ahead of the June 5 runoff presidential election. Kuczynski, also known by his initials PPK, is projected to win with 43% of the vote ahead of Fujimori's 39%, according to the latest Ipsos public opinion poll conducted between April 20 and 22.

 The poll found 5% of voters remain undecided and 13% plan to cast a blank or spoiled ballot.

According to Ipsos president Alfredo Torres, a key factor in PPK’s surge ahead of Fujimori after winning 21% in the first round is support for the idea of “the lesser of two evils” and a strong counterweight, given the fact that Fujimori’s Popular Force party has secured a majority in Congress.

The poll also found that the “anti-vote” which rejects a candidate is higher for Fujimori, over 45% compared to the 37% for PPK.

Fujimori’s Popular Force is set to control Peru’s 130-seat Congress with 73 members, followed by Veronika Mendoza Socialist Broad Front with 20 seats, PPK’s Peruvians for Change with 18 seats, and single-digit numbers for other parties. One congressional seat is yet to be announced.

The Broad Front coalition, originally sponsored by First Lady Nadine Heredia, attracted voters disenchanted with the limited fulfillment of President Ollanta Humala’s administration electoral promises, and from the banning by the National Electoral Board of two populist candidates.

The Broad Front chances skyrocketed in the polls in the final weeks of the election, becoming a significant political force disputing the runner up post.

In 2011 Keiko Fujimori lost in the runoff with Humala after coming in second in the first round. Keiko is daughter of jailed former dictator Alberto Fujimori, and the name still rings a bell for many voters who recall how her father terminated with guerrillas and set the country on strong economic path. But so does in the opposite direction his human rights record for which he has been jailed.