Lima, Mar 30 (IANS): Peru's presidential elections will be held on April 11 with strict social distancing rules in place to protect voters amid the Covid-19 pandemic, head of the country's electoral body announced here.
"There is no risk, because in 88 countries elections were held in the midst of a pandemic, complying with protocols," Xinhua news agency quoted Piero Corvetto, head of the National Office of Electoral Processes, as saying to the local media on Monday.
Peru has registered 1,529,882 confirmed Covid-19 cases so far, with 51,635 deaths.
But with established health and safety measures, the elections should pose no risk in terms of viral transmission, Corvetto said.
Peruvians will go to the polls to choose a successor to incumbent President Francisco Sagasti from among 18 presidential candidates.
Sagasti's term ends on July 28.
Yonhy Lescano, leader of the Popular Action party, leads the list of presidential hopefuls with 11.4 per cent of voters' support, according to the most recent survey by the Peruvian Studies Institute.
In the second place is Rafael Lopez Aliaga of the Popular Renewal party with 9.7 per cent of votes, followed by Veronika Mendoza of the Juntos por el Peru party with 9.6 per cent.
According to Peru's National Jury of Elections, 25,287,954 voters are eligible to elect the next President and the 130 members of the unicameral congress for the upcoming 2021-2026 period.
The elections will take place after the country was hit by a major political crisis late last year.
In November 2002, the country's Congress elected Sagasti as the new interim leader after the impeachment of former President Martin Vizcarra, which was quickly followed by the resignation of his successor Manuel Merino.
Merino, who was appointed following Vizcarra's impeachment, resigned within a week after widespread protests broke out across the country after he assumed the post.
After Vizcarra was removed from office for alleged bribery, thousands of people across the country staged some of the largest protests in decades.