With their favorite candidate out of the race, Peruvians in South Florida will vote in their home country's runoff elections.
BY CASEY WOODS
Thousands of South Florida's Peruvians will go to the polls today in their homeland's runoff presidential election, but for many of them, their candidate is no longer in the race: Lourdes Flores, the conservative standard-bearer who came in a narrow third in the first round.
''She is a very sincere person who would have achieved a lot for Peru,'' said West Palm Beach resident Irma Burkle, 60. ``I have to vote, but I don't like either of the remaining candidates, so I think I'm going to leave my ballot blank.''
South Florida's Peruvian community overwhelming chose Flores in that first round, giving her 9,901 -- or 80 percent -- of the 12,500 votes cast. Former President Alan Garcia, a moderate leftist, garnered 996 votes locally, while nationalist Ollanta Humala received 556 votes. The remaining votes were left blank or were nullified for errors.
Those results place the local vote in stark contrast with the tally in Peru, where Humala won with more than 30 percent, Garcia had 24.4 percent, and Flores came in third with 23.1 percent. Some 26,000 Peruvians registered to vote in South Florida. Peru requires all its citizens of voting age, including those living abroad, to vote, fining them $40 if they don't.
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