LIMA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Peru will hold presidential elections 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 said Monday.
"There is no risk, because in 88 countries elections were held in the midst of a pandemic, complying with protocols," Piero Corvetto, head of the National Office of Electoral Processes, told local media.
Peru has registered 1,529,882 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far.
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 percent of voters' support, according to the most recent survey by the Peruvian Studies Institute.
Trailing in the second place is Rafael Lopez Aliaga of the Popular Renewal party with 9.7 percent of votes, followed by Veronika Mendoza of the Juntos por el Peru party with 9.6 percent.
Some 25,287,954 Peruvians are eligible to vote, according to the National Elections Jury. Enditem
