Peru's former President Alan Garcia took lead for the June 4 runoff against nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala in the latest poll published on Sunday.

Based on interviews with 2,000 voters on May 10-12, the national survey by the polling company Apoyo showed Garcia got the upper hand, leading Humala 56 percent to 44 percent. The survey had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

A May 8 Apoyo survey also put Garcia, who was in power between 1985 and 1990, in a leading position, topping Humala 57 percent to 43 percent.

The Peruvian daily El Comercio, however, quoted Apoyo's director Alfredo Torres as saying that Garcia's lead "is not sufficient to consider him a surefire winner."

The poll found 23 percent of voters undecided yet, Torres said, adding they would play a key role in the outcome.

Early in the month, Peru's National Electoral Board announced that Humala, 43, who leads the People's Union of Peru, would compete with the 56-year-old Garcia of the Peru Aprist Party in the presidential runoff on June 4.

Out of the 99.98 percent of the votes counted for the first round of the election on April 9, Humala held 30.62 percent while Garcia had 24.32 percent. They were the front runners in a race that involved 20 candidates.

Source: Xinhua