Close call as Peruvians go to polls

PERUVIANS were voting in a tight presidential contest yesterday that could put their Andean nation on a leftist track akin to Venezuela and Bolivia, giving them their first female leader or offer a former president a second chance.

With no candidate expected to win a majority, the vote may only decide the final players for a run-off in late May or early June.

Political newcomer Ollanta Humala, aged 43, a retired army lieutenant colonel, has promised to spend more on the poor and take on Peru’s elite. He has aligned himself with populist firebrand leader Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.