Father Enrique Campos Camasca told his congregation in Sapallanga, a district of Huancayo province in the central Andes, not to vote for “the same scoundrels as always” as Peru heads into local elections on Sunday, 4 October. The vote is four days away.
He didn't stop there. Campos urged worshippers not to sell their votes for gifts, promises or other inducements, and to choose candidates who “love their land.”
A Sermon Aimed at the Ballot Box
“Don't vote for the same scoundrels as always,” Campos said, using the Spanish word sinvergüenzas. “Let us not vote for the same people who keep damaging our land, our country.” He said voters knew which candidates loved their land, linking that choice to honesty and respect for local customs and faith.
His warning about vote-buying was blunt. “Let us not be bought with a little present, a little gift, a promise. Never,” he said. He urged worshippers to own their decisions: “Then don't go around complaining when you voted.” He also said he would ask on 11 October, seven days after the vote, whether the winners deserved their victories.
The parish broadcast the sermon live on its Facebook page. Infobae reported the remarks on 30 September 2026, and RPP, El Comercio and the weekly Caretas also carried them that day. According to those outlets, Campos didn't name a candidate, party or sitting official. They didn't specify the date of the Mass, only that it took place before the vote. By 30 September, no reaction from the Archdiocese of Huancayo or electoral authorities had been reported.
What's on the Ballot
This isn't a national contest. No president or member of Congress is on the ballot. Instead, voters will fill 13,148 posts, according to figures from ONPE published by the official gazette El Peruano. The posts include 25 regional governors, 196 provincial mayors, 1,696 district mayors and 9,118 district councillors. ONPE figures cited by Infobae say polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.
The Lima race has a clear front-runner. A report linked in the coverage said former Mayor López Aliaga led the race to run the capital by 12 points. ONPE is expected to release results for Sapallanga and Junín after polls close.
Institutions Watching the Vote
Peru's public prosecution service lists vote-buying first among the electoral crimes it will monitor. More than 6,800 prosecutors are to be on duty nationwide. Observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) will also monitor the vote.
The coverage noted that the Catholic Church still carries weight in Peru. Pope Leo XIV, a former bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru, is due to visit from 11 to 16 November. The coverage didn't identify which local officials Campos had in mind.
Why This Matters: Local officials make decisions people feel closest to home, and Peru's 13,148 posts up for election put those decisions in voters' hands. A priest warning his flock against trading a ballot for a small gift points to a pressure that prosecutors rank first among electoral crimes. The state is deploying more than 6,800 prosecutors and inviting OAS observers, a sign of how much depends on public institutions protecting the vote's integrity. Campos's pledge to ask on 11 October whether the winners deserved their victories frames an election as an ongoing question of accountability, not a single day's transaction. For communities hoping to hold local government to account, a vote that can't be bought is where it starts.