Peru presidential candidate dies in traffic accident

A Peruvian presidential candidate was killed in a car crash on a remote highway in the Andes Mountains on his way to a political rally.

Napoleon Becerra, 61, was the candidate of the Peruvian Party of Workers and Entrepreneurs in the April 12 elections.

The progressive was one of 36 candidates, and a recent poll showed his voter intent was less than 1 percent.

Local police said Becerra’s vehicle went off the road in a rural area of ​​the city of Pilpichaca, 430 kilometers southeast of the capital Lima.

Mayor Balvín Huamaní told The Associated Press that three passengers in the candidate’s car were injured.

Becerra’s party said his body was taken to Huamanga, the capital of the Ayacucho region, where the crash occurred.

Peruvians hope general elections will bring an end to the country’s long political crisis.

José María Balcázar, 83, became Peru’s eighth president in a decade in February, replacing another interim leader who was ousted over allegations of corruption.