LIMA • Ms Keiko Fujimori, daughter of a jailed former president, has topped the first round of voting in Peru's presidential election. However, with less than the 50 per cent required for victory, she will face rival pro-market candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in a June run-off.

Ms Fujimori won 39.2 per cent of Sunday's vote, while Mr Kuczynski held 24.3 per cent, with 40 per cent of the ballots counted, the electoral office said. Leftist Veronika Mendoza, who pledged curbs on the mining industry and higher corporate taxes, was third with 16.6 per cent

Ms Fujimori and Mr Kuczynski have pledged to continue Peru's pro-business policies credited with fuelling the fastest growth among major Latin American economies over the past 15 years.

Ms Fujimori, 40, has stressed her tough stance on crime, while Mr Kuczynski, 77, has highlighted proposals such as a cut in sales tax.

Still, voters may decide between the two based on their attitude to Ms Fujimori's father, Alberto Fujimori, who tamed inflation and vanquished Maoist guerillas before fleeing Peru amid graft allegations.

He was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in jail for ordering the killing of suspected terrorist sympathisers.

BLOOMBERG