Peru socialist stretches lead in presidential race, poll shows

FILE PHOTO: Peru's presidential candidate Pedro Castillo of Peru Libre party, who will compete head-to-head with right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori in a second-round ballot in June, arrives at the party headquarters in Lima, Peru April 20, 2021. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda/

LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian left-wing candidate Pedro Castillo has stretched his lead in the Andean country's presidential election race, according to a poll released Sunday, with almost double the level of support of conservative opponent Keiko Fujimori.

Castillo, who has pledged to draft a new constitution to give the state more control over the economy, was shown with 41.5% support in the poll by the Peruvian Studies Institute (IEP) published in newspaper La República.