Right-winger Duque holds strong lead in Colombia presidential poll

BOGOTA, May 10 (Reuters) – Right-wing candidate Ivan Duque held a healthy lead over rivals ahead of Colombia’s presidential election on May 27, with 34 percent of voters saying they planned to back him, a survey by Cifras y Conceptos showed on Thursday.

Support for Duque, a protégé of former President Alvaro Uribe, fell 1.5 points from its last survey in April, and was below numbers from other opinion polls. Leftist candidate Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 rebel and former mayor of Bogota, was in second place with 22.5 percent, down 1.5 points from the last survey and down 12.5 points compared with a recent poll by Centro Nacional de Consultoria (CNC).

Centrist Sergio Fajardo was third with 13.8 percent and support for center-right German Vargas Lleras was 13.2 percent. CNC YanHaas Invamer CNC Cifras y April 19 April 26 April 27 May 4 Conceptos May 10 Ivan 37 38 41.3 38 34 Duque Gustavo 29 28 31 35 22.5 Petro Sergio 15 11 13.3 17 13.8 Fajardo German 8 7 7.9 7 13.2 Vargas Lleras Margin of 3.3 3 3 3.3 4.5 error (Reporting by Bogota newsroom, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)