Peru’s presidential candidates virtually tied in Ipsos mock vote

Bloomberg

Peru’s presidential candidates are virtually tied in a mock election carried out by pollster Ipsos.
Pedro Castillo’s lead over Keiko Fujimori has dwindled to less than 2 percentage points and is within the margin of error ahead of the June 6 runoff, according to El Comercio newspaper.
The results are the latest to show Castillo’s once double-digit lead greatly reduced. The candidate’s leftist policies rattled investors, and Peruvian bond and currency markets have been whipsawed in recent weeks by his sudden rise and prolonged fall in the polls. In the mock election, 51.1% of participants voted for Castillo while 48.9% voted for Fujimori.
A poll released also by Ipsos on Sunday showed Castillo’s voter intention at 40%, a slightly wider advantage of 3 percentage points over Fujimori’s 37%. Yet his lead has also dwindled from the 43% he had April 30.
Ipsos says 14% of respondents plan to cast blank ballots — a form of protest — and 9% remain undecided.
In the mock election, 1,202 potential voters filled out voting cards similar to the ones that will be used in the election. In the poll, Ipsos interviewed 1,205 people in-person on a wider set of questions such as candidates’ likability.
Castillo’s hard-left tilt has allowed Fujimori, a former legislator facing corruption charges and the daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, to present herself a business-friendly centrist.