Alan Garcia and Alejandro Toledo exchanged jibes about drug use, irresponsible sex and thievery, issues that have plagued a campaign meant to restore Peru's democratic credentials after a decade of authoritarianism and blatant corruption.
Peruvians had their first opportunity to see how Mr Toledo, a former shoe-shine boy turned World Bank economist, stacked up against Mr Garcia, the well-spoken leftist who left the economy in ruins with inflation running at more than 7,600 per cent by the end of his presidency in 1990.
Mr Toledo is expected to garner 60 per cent of all ballots and become Peru's first elected leader to have Indian blood, like the overwhelming majority of Peruvians.
"Mr Garcia, it is inconceivable that you speak of human rights, the struggle against corruption, against narcotics trafficking, when you have unresolved charges," Mr Toledo said. "Money was robbed."
Charges of allegedly misappropriating millions of dollars in kickbacks had driven his opponent into exile in neighbouring Colombia, but have since been dropped.
In reply, Mr Garcia brought up allegations that Mr Toledo, a married man, tested positive for cocaine use three years ago after a tryst with a trio of whores. "Nobody has shown me to be a consumer of cocaine," Mr Garcia thundered. "A cocaine consumer cannot be the leader of a country. I think that the struggle against corruption begins at home."
Peru, once a major supplier of cocaine, is one of the key Andean nations in the international fight against narcotics trafficking.
Mr Toledo insists that he was set up, drugged and kidnapped by agents of his former nemesis, President Alberto Fujimori, in order to be filmed in a sexually compromising situation and blackmailed.
For weeks, the local press has been dominated by character questions: does Mr Garcia take lithium for depression? Did Mr Toledo pocket campaign money and abandon an illegitimate daughter?
After neither candidate won a majority in the first round, cynical voters are disenchanted with their choices.
The race "has left us with the dilemma of choosing between the electric chair and the gas chamber," quipped one television talk-show host, Jaime Bayly. After he suggested that voters nullify their ballots in protest, support for both candidates rapidly fell off.