By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

A DOWN-THE-WIRE finish is seen in the Pangasinan gubernatorial race as leading contenders Dr. Jamie Eloise Agbayani, wife of incumbent Gov.Victor E. Agbayani and Rep. Amado T. Espino are edging each other out in the returns for the final mandate of the province’s 1.3 million registered voters.

With only about 10 per cent of the total votes officially tallied at 10 a.m. today, the fight appears even for the two in the six districts of Pangasinan. Agbayani is taking the first, third and fourth districts by slight margins in the first tallies while Espino is strong in the second. fifth and sixth districts with slight to medium vote-margins over Agbayani.

“It could go either way if the trend keeps up by the time 80 per cent of the votes are counted,” Joey Ballesteros, a local radio announcer said. ‘It’s too early to establish a significant trend,” he added

.

Third gubernatorial candidate Oscar Lambino, the outgoing vice governor, appears to have slid totally out of the picture, winning only in Malasiqui which gave him 4,500 votes so far in the first tallies against Agbayani’s 3,746 and Espino’s 3,200.

Agbayani is running as an Independent candidate but has been adopted by Biskeg na Pangasinan, a Comelec-accredited local political party headed by Undersecretary for Local Governance Antonio “Bebot” Villar, Jr. Espino is the Kampi representative. Lambino is the Lakas administration candidate.