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Exit Polls Show Tight Race in Peruvian Presidential Election

Aired April 9, 2000 - 8:05 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: Several nations held elections Sunday. First to Peru, where the country's longtime leader is in the fight of his political life. The votes are now being counted from Sunday's presidential contest. Incumbent Alberto Fujimori faces a serious challenge from economist Alejandro Toledo. The election has been marred by charges of voter fraud.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck joins us by phone with the latest from the capital, Lima -- Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Andria.

The polls closed here about three hours ago, but opposition candidate Alejandro Toledo already sounds very much like somebody that won today. He just addressed a large crowd of his supporters gathered outside a hotel here in downtown Lima. He told them that tomorrow very well could be the awakening of a new democracy, a new democratic era in the country. He did warn them, however. He said that they would have to wait at least another hour and a half before official results start trickling in.

So far, the expectation that he did very well today is based on results of exit polling conducted by three independent Peruvian exit polls. The results of those polls indicate that Mr. Toledo would at least be able to participate in a run-off with incumbent President Alberto Fujimori. But again, it's very important to stress that official results are still coming in and President Fujimori very could well show a strong -- have a very strong showing in Peru's rural areas that traditionally have supported his campaign.

The issues in this electoral campaign have centered around the economy. People say people need more jobs, and Toledo's gotten a lot of support from Peru's Indian population because he is, in fact, of Indian descent. They say that they're the most affected by the economic crisis, and they're hoping that he can help them pull out of that.

This is Harris Whitbeck, CNN, reporting live from Lima, Peru.

HALL: And more elections.

It looks like Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze will serve a second term in office. The former Soviet republic of Georgia held its presidential election Sunday. Eighty percent of the vote has been counted. So far, Mr. Shevardnadze has won 82 percent, clearly enough to avoid a run-off election. His main opponent is trailing far behind with 17 percent. Turnout was 70 percent of the 3.1 million electorate.

Now on to Greece. The ruling Socialist Party is clinging to a razor-thin lead over the conservative New Democracy Party. With about half the ballots from Sunday's vote counted, the Socialists, led by Prime Minister Costas Simitis, had about 43 percent -- 43.7 percent -- excuse me -- of the vote, and that's only a .6 lead over the New Democracy Party.

Votes also are being counted in Bosnia. Preliminary election results indicate Serbs and Croats are supporting the nationalists, while most Muslim-dominated cities appear to be going with the opposition Social Democrats. International diplomats are urging Bosnian voters to reject the nationalist parties that led the country during its civil war. With no official results yet in, Social Democrats are claiming victory in several high-profile areas, including the capital, Sarajevo.

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