Father Enrique Campos Camasca urged voters in Sapallanga not to exchange their ballots for gifts or promises before Peru’s local elections on 4 October. The vote will fill 13,148 public posts, from regional governors to district councillors, and the public prosecution service lists vote-buying first among the electoral crimes it will monitor.
The Vote and the Inducements
“Let us not be bought with a little present, a little gift, a promise. Never,” Campos told worshippers at a Mass in Sapallanga, a district in Huancayo province in the central Andes. He also urged them not to vote for “the same scoundrels as always,” using the Spanish word sinvergüenzas.
Voters knew which candidates “love their land,” Campos said, linking that choice to honesty and respect for local customs and faith. According to Infobae, RPP, El Comercio and Caretas, which reported his remarks on 30 September, he didn’t name any candidate, party or sitting official.
“Let us not vote for the same people who keep damaging our land, our country,” Campos said. He urged worshippers to take responsibility for their choices, adding, “Then don’t go around complaining when you voted.” He said he would ask on 11 October whether the winners deserved their victories.
The parish broadcast the sermon live on its Facebook page. The Mass date wasn’t specified beyond being held before the election. By 30 September, no reaction from the Archdiocese of Huancayo or electoral authorities had been reported.
Posts on the Ballot, Oversight at the Polls
This subnational election doesn’t include a president or members of Congress. ONPE figures published by the official gazette El Peruano say voters will choose 25 regional governors, 196 provincial mayors, 1,696 district mayors and 9,118 district councillors, for 13,148 posts in total.
Polling stations are scheduled to open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m., according to ONPE figures cited by Infobae. More than 6,800 prosecutors are expected on duty nationwide, the public prosecution service says, to monitor electoral crimes including vote-buying. Observers from the Organization of American States will monitor the vote, too.
The article reported a clear poll leader in one Lima race and linked to a report that former Mayor López Aliaga led the race to run Lima by 12 points. It didn’t say which local officials Campos had in mind. ONPE was expected to release results for Sapallanga and Junín after polls close on 4 October.
The Limits of the Reported Challenge
Campos’s appeal focused on inducements voters might receive and candidates’ conduct, but he made no named accusation against an individual or party. The reports offered no response from candidates or local officials, and didn’t specify what gifts or promises had been offered or identify anyone involved in vote-buying.
The article said the Catholic Church still carries weight in Peru. Pope Leo XIV, a former bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru, was due to visit the country from 11 to 16 November. As of 30 September, the election results and Campos’s promised question about whether the winners deserved their victories were still pending.