Peru Watchdog Bars Neoliberal Candidate from Presidential Race

Almost two months ahead of Peru's presidential elections, electoral authorities formally accepted Thursday the candidacy of progressive leader Veronika Mendoza and upheld the suspension of neoliberal candidate Julio Guzman, who ranked second in the latest polls.

The latest decisions mean 15 out of the 19 declared candidates to succeed President Ollanta Humala will be eligible to run April 10.

Julio Guzman | Photo: EFE

To justify the ban on Guzman, Peru's electoral watchdog said there were irregularties in the way his party, Everyone for Peru or Todos por el Peru, selected him as its presidential candidate.

Guzman replied there was a “black hand” that sought to remove him from the race over what he considers to be mere “administrative issues." He said he will appeal the decision, and, if necessary, mobilize his supporters.

The electoral body's head, Fernando Rodriguez, maintained his position on Thursday, telling local media that the selection process violated the party's internal rules as it failed for instance to convoke an assembly within due time, among other irregularities.

In the latest polls, Guzman obtained over 10 percent of the vote, ranking second in a statistical tie with two other candidates, but still far behind Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former dictator Alberto Fujimori.

Mendoza, candidate for the progressive Broad Front for Justice, Life and Freedom, and lawmaker for the province of Cuzco, has a degree in psychology and obtained her Masters in social sciences at the Sorbonne, in Paris.