AP
Alvaro Uribe

Two new public opinion polls in Colombia show an opponent of President Andres Pastrana's concessions to leftist rebels is now the front-runner in the nation's upcoming presidential election.

The polls show independent candidate Alvaro Uribe with a nine point lead over his closest rival, former Interior Minister Horacio Serpa, heading into the May balloting. Both surveys indicate Mr. Uribe has the support of about 40 percent of the voters.

The polls were carried out by Gallup and the local Napoleon Franco firm and both have a two percent margin of error.

Mr. Uribe has promised to get tough with Marxist rebels who have been waging a guerrilla war against the Colombian government for 38 years.

The rebels have launched a series of violent attacks against government, industrial and civilian targets in recent days that have killed at least 17 people.

Some information for this report provided by AP.

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