Keiko Fujimori remains clear front-runner in Peru election: poll

LIMA (Reuters) - Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori, remains the clear front-runner to win Peru's presidential election, while a former governor and a right-wing economist duke it out for second place, an Ipsos poll showed on Sunday. Support for Fujimori, the leader of right-wing populist party Fuerza Popular, remained unchanged from a December poll, with 33 percent of those surveyed saying they intend to vote for her. She has pledged public investment in infrastructure to kick-start the Peruvian economy, an important metals exporter which like its Latin American neighbors has struggled against the backdrop of global weakness in commodities. The election is slated to take place in April. If no candidate obtains 50 percent of the vote in the first round, the election goes to a run-off in June. In a distant second place, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a right-wing economist and former prime minister, polled 13 percent, down three percentage points from December. Tied for runner-up, businessman Cesar Acuna polled 13 percent, unchanged from the prior survey. Ex-president Alan Garcia garnered 8 percent in the poll. All the polls thus far forecast that the election will be decided in a June run-off since no candidate is seen gaining the 50 percent needed to win outright in the first round. According to Ipsos, Fujimori is seen winning a run-off election against Kuczynski, Acuna or Garcia. The Ipsos poll of 1,831 people was carried out Jan. 12-14. It has a margin of error of plus/minus 2.3 percentage points. (Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)