Peruvian presidential candidate dies in traffic accident in the Andes

A Peruvian presidential candidate died Sunday in a car accident on a remote Andean highway while traveling to a political rally.

Napoleón Becerra, 61, was the candidate for the Workers and Entrepreneurs Party of Peru in the April 12 election. The leftist was one of the 36 candidates and a recent poll showed him with less than 1 per cent of the voting intentions.

Becerra's vehicle went off the road in the rural district of the city of Pilpichaca, 430 kilometers (267 miles) southeast of capital Lima, local police said. 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 accident took place.

Peruvians hope the general elections to put a halt to the country's extended political crisis. Jose María Balcázar, 83, became Peru's eighth president in a decade in February, replacing another interim leader who was ousted over corruption allegations.