Peru bars presidential candidate, could disqualify another

Peruvian presidential candidate for ''Todos por el Peru'' (All for Peru) Julio Guzman speaks to Reuters during an interview at his office in Miraflores, Lima, February 17, 2016.

Reuters/Janine Costa


LIMA Peru barred a presidential hopeful from next month's elections because of vote-buying allegations and moved toward disqualifying second-place candidate Julio Guzman, in a surprise move that could turn the electoral race on its head.


Both candidates - wealthy former governor Cesar Acuna and centrist technocrat Guzman - can appeal the decisions before the National Jury of Elections. A final ruling would then be handed down between Tuesday and Wednesday, the board said.


Guzman, seen tying frontrunner Keiko Fujimori in a likely June run-off, was kept in the race last week after he fulfilled a series of technical requirements related to his party's registration.


But those technicalities were cited by the Special Jury of Elections, tasked with giving the green light to presidential tickets, in accepting a citizen's petition to declare his candidacy "inadmissible" on Friday, a widely unexpected move that again threatens to upend his bid.


The possibility of throwing out two leading candidates weeks ahead of April 10 elections has raised questions about how free and fair the vote will be.


The Special Jury of Elections said Acuna must be barred because he violated a law that prohibits candidates from giving money to voters while campaigning.


A local TV channel had broadcast footage of Acuna promising 5,000 soles ($1,450) to a handicapped man for medical care and 10,000 soles to a crowd in a shantytown so they could build a levee.


Acuna said the money was charity and argued that the law banning donations by candidates was not in force at the time.


Guzman and Acuna had climbed in polls on the back of voter frustration with the other leading candidates, all well-known politicians who have run at least once before, including two ex-presidents and Fujimori, the daughter of jailed ex-president Alberto Fujimori.


Definitively barring either Guzman or Acuna could boost lesser-known candidates who have edged up in recent polls, including leftist lawmaker Veronika Mendoza.


Fujimori could potentially pick up poor and rural votes from Acuna, though probably not enough to give her the 50 percent needed to win outright in the first round.


Acuna had 6 percent of voter intent in an Ipsos poll last month, down from double-digit figures that had placed him second before a plagiarism scandal derailed his rise.


Fujimori had 30 percent and Guzman 18 percent, and the two were virtually tied in a run-off scenario.


($1 = 3.4401 soles)


(Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Bernadette Baum)