Washington, D.C. — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) released the following statement after Peru’s Electoral Court excluded leading presidential candidate Julio Guzman from taking part in April’s presidential election:

“I am concerned the Peruvian Electoral Court has barred Julio Guzman from next month’s elections over an alleged procedural error in his party’s internal nominating process.  

“Mr. Guzman has been polling second to rival candidate Keiko Fujimori with just weeks until the first round of votes.  The will of the people — not a 3-2 court decision on party procedure — should determine who will lead Peru.  This decision risks undermining the legitimacy of whomever should eventually prevail.”  

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