Peruvian presidential hopeful, Mr Alejandro Toledo, remains favourite to win tomorrow's second round run-off vote despite a last-minute surge by his rival, a former president. Mr Alan Garcia, president in 198590, has returned from exile to try for a second term in office.
Peruvian law required a second vote as neither candidate polled more than 50 per cent of preferences in the first round held last month.
"Peruvians have to choose between the electric chair and the gas chamber," a TV presenter said this week, summing up the public mood.
Mr Toledo faces inquiries into alleged cocaine use and an unresolved paternity suit, while Mr Garcia faces charges of human rights violations after his government brutally suppressed a prison mutiny in 1986, killing hundreds of unarmed inmates.
Peru's mass media have co-ordinated a last-minute campaign to dissuade an estimated 40 per cent of voters from spoiling their ballots, as polls show consistently that voters want neither of the candidates.
Mr Garcia returned in January when charges that he collected million-dollar kickbacks while in office expired after nearly nine years in exile. The disgraced politician turned a 5 per cent poll rating into a 25.7 per cent comeback in May, earning him a place in tomorrow's run-off.
"I have come back because I want to restore my place in history," he said at his final rally on Thursday.
Mr Toledo rose to prominence when he forced former president Alberto Fujimori into a second round run-off vote last year but withdrew before the final vote, fearing widespread fraud. He co-ordinated protests which failed to prevent Mr Fujimori from taking office last July but provided the momentum for Peru's Congress to impeach Mr Fujimori in November, after the president's closest aide was caught bribing opposition deputies to secure congressional votes.
Mr Toledo closed his campaign on Thursday with a mass rally in Lima at which he promised an emergency employment scheme to cut poverty. Mr Garcia promised a state irrigation scheme for desert regions, an agricultural credit bank and lower charges for electricity, telephone and medicines. He has criticised the privatisation deals of the past decade, which enriched a small clique of business people but led to a savage hike in service fees.
Peru's stock exchange took a dive this week as news filtered through that Mr Garcia was gaining ground on Mr Toledo, who saw a 20-point lead whittled down to just five points.
Peruvians loved Mr Garcia for the first three years of his rule as employment boomed and wages rose, but he is remembered for leaving office amid rampant corruption, surging rebel violence, food shortages and hyper-inflation.
Mr Garcia's social democratic APRA party warned that Mr Toledo's alliance had purchased 10,000 tickets to today's international soccer game with Ecuador, hoping to turn the match into an election rally, even though campaigning has legally ended.