Father Enrique Campos Camasca urged worshippers in Sapallanga to reject vote-buying and candidates who damage their land and country before Peru’s local elections on 4 October. He called on voters to choose candidates who “love their land,” connecting that choice with honesty, local customs and faith.
A call for local accountability
“Don’t vote for the same scoundrels as always,” Campos said during a Mass in Sapallanga, a district in Huancayo province in the central Andes. He used the Spanish word sinvergüenzas. “Let us not vote for the same people who keep damaging our land, our country.”
Campos said voters knew which candidates loved their land. He urged them to consider that connection alongside honesty and respect for local customs and faith, but named no candidate, party or sitting official.
“Let us not be bought with a little present, a little gift, a promise. Never,” he said. Campos 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. Infobae reported the remarks on 30 September 2026, along with RPP, El Comercio and the weekly Caretas. The Mass date wasn’t specified beyond the fact that it took place before the vote. By 30 September, no reaction from the Archdiocese of Huancayo or electoral authorities had been reported.
Local posts, not national offices
The 4 October election is subnational. Peruvians won’t vote for a president or member of Congress in this ballot; instead, they will fill 13,148 local and regional posts, according to figures from ONPE published by the official gazette El Peruano.
The positions include 25 regional governors, 196 provincial mayors, 1,696 district mayors and 9,118 district councillors. Figures from ONPE cited by Infobae say polling places should open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.
ONPE was expected to report election results for Sapallanga and Junín after polls close on 4 October. The report also pointed to a clear leader in one Lima race, linking to a report that former Mayor López Aliaga led the race to run Lima by 12 points.
Vote-buying under scrutiny
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, while observers from the Organization of American States will also monitor the vote.
The report didn’t identify the local officials Campos had in mind, nor did it provide evidence that any particular candidate or party offered inducements. His warning focused on voters’ choices and the gifts, promises or other inducements he said they should refuse.
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 from 11 to 16 November. The election concerns regional and municipal posts; the report identifies no proposed transfer of national authority or demographic change connected to the vote.