Campaigning For Peru's Presidential Election Coming To A Close
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, WORLD NEWS: Campaigning in Peru is nearing an end with condemnation from President Alberto Fujimori against allegations of election fraud. The president is also facing a growing challenge by presidential hopeful Alejandro Toledo. CNN's Mark Armstrong has the story.</s>MARK ARMSTRONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Alberto Fujimori is dancing his way to what he hopes will be a third term. As campaigning draws to an end ahead of Sunday's presidential elections, Mr. Fujimori is dismissing any talk of fraud as an opposition ploy to undermine his lead in the polls.</s>ALBERTO FUJIMORI, PERUVIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I speak of a type of international conspiracy in the sense that foreign non- governmental organizations and others here are talking of the possibility of fraud. In every campaign there is talk of fraud. It's an age-old electioneering tactic. Precisely because the opposition's campaign, which states that there will be fraudulent elections, the observers have put more attention into this issue.</s>ARMSTRONG: International election observers, including the Organization of American States, say the election lacks the conditions to be democratic. They accuse the president of manipulating the media and abusing state funds for his own campaign. Washington backs those conclusions and is urging the president to make the process fully democratic. But the OAS says the election should still go on.</s>EDUARDO STEIN, ORG. OF AMERICAN STATES (through translator): We have proven that there are problems and some shortcomings in the electoral process. In spite of that, we have seen that the process can work, even with the shortcomings because the Peruvian wants to vote.</s>ARMSTRONG: President Fujimori is the longest standing democratically elected president in the Americas, having been in power since 1990. The opposition says it's illegal for him to run for a third term and that he can only stand because his supporters in congress passed a law interpreting an ambiguous constitution in his favor. And in recent weeks, a serious challenger has emerged. Alejandro Toledo is a former shoeshine boy who came from poverty to become a World Bank economist. He closed his campaign in Lima Tuesday after jumping to second place in the race, raising the possibility that Fujimori might not win outright in Sunday's first-round vote. With about 40 percent support in the polls, Mr. Fujimori is still the favorite. But according to pollsters, he might not win the simple majority required to avoid a run-off. Toledo has surged from a single- digit standing in January to more than 30 percent in some polls.</s>ALEJANDRO TOLEDO, PERUVIAN PRES. CANDIDATE (through translator): These generous people have come here tonight to express their voices to say enough. The time has come to get to your feet and say enough of authoritarianism in Peru, damn it.</s>ARMSTRONG: It's thought Toledo could try to use his momentum, along with a unified opposition vote, to dethrone Mr. Fujimori in a second round of balloting in June. Mark Armstrong, CNN.