LIMA, April 5 (Reuters) - Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori holds first place in the polls one week before Peru's presidential election, according to three polls released on Sunday.
Since none of a record 35 presidential candidates are expected to win more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election is expected to take place on June 7.
* Some 16.8% of voters remain undecided, down from 23.9%previously, according to a Datum International poll. * Keiko Fujimori, 50, the daughter of late presidentAlberto Fujimori who is on her fourth run for the job, leadswith 14.5% according to Datum, up from a prior 13%. * Carlos Alvarez, a former comedian, moved up to secondplace with 10.9% from a prior 6.9%, it added. * Far-right former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga dropped tothird place with 9.9%, down from a prior 11.7%, Datum said. * Two other polls, Ipsos Peru and the Peruvian MarketResearch Company, also showed Fujimori in the lead but disagreedover whether Alvarez or Lopez Aliaga ranked in second place.
OTHER CANDIDATES
* While Alvarez has seen the fastest growth in support,Lopez Aliaga's close proximity keeps him in the running,according to Datum CEO Urpi Torrado. * "The battle is no longer for the undecided voters; it isbetween the candidates themselves. To gain ground, they have totake voters away from each other," Torrado said. * Other candidates polling in the higher single digitsinclude centrist sociologist Jorge Nieto; Ricardo Belmont,another former Lima mayor; leftist lawmaker Roberto Sanchez; andprogressive former central bank director Alfonso Lopez Chau. * Lopez Chau hit second place in some earlier polls, butby early April had dropped to between fourth and seventh place.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Mark Porter)
