Election officials in Peru say left-wing nationalist Ollanta Humala is leading in the first round of the presidential election with 18 percent of the vote counted.
Officials said Humala has won more than 26 percent of the vote in Sunday’s poll.
Election authorities said former World Bank economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski placed second with 24.5 percent of the vote. Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of imprisoned former president Alberto Fujimori, came in third place with 21.1 percent of the vote counted so far.
Exit polls and first estimates had placed Fujimori second.
Trailing in fourth place was former president Alejandro Toledo.
With no candidate expected to capture a simple majority, the top two vote-getters will vie for the presidency in a June 5 runoff.
Humala prevailed in the first round of the 2006 presidential election only to lose a runoff.
Peru has seen a decade of rapid economic growth, but one-third of its population of nearly 30 million still live in poverty. Much of the campaign has focused on continuing this growth while ensuring the poor also see some of the increased prosperity.
