Evangelical in Peru election race out to ‘change politics’
-08/04/06
A left-wing ex-
Evangelical in Peru election race out to ‘change politics’
-08/04/06
A left-wing ex-president, a nationalist ex-army officer, and a female ex-lawmaker are the frontrunners in the race to become Peru’s next president. But a 71-year old evangelical pastor who is also competing is optimistic there will be surprises when the ballot papers are counted, reports Rebecca Howard for Ecumenical News International (www.eni.ch).
“We are called to be the salt and the light and so we must be involved in politics where there are many dark shadows and much need for change,” Pastor Humberto Lay told Swiss-based ENI in a telephone interview just before the 9 April election.
Lay is one of 20 candidates vying for Peru’s presidency in the election and the only evangelical Christian to enter the race in a predominantly Catholic country.
“I realised I couldn’t criticise the government unless I was doing something to heal the nation,” said 71-year-old Lay, an architect by trade and president of the Emmanuel Biblical Church.
He is running on a National Restoration party ticket, based on “Christian and ethical values”, although not all the people on his list are linked to the evangelical church.
“We are open to anyone who shares the same values,” he said, noting that the central plank of his programme for government is to “wage a frontal war against corruption”.
The latest polls suggest the leading candidates are nationalist former army officer Ollanta Humala, running an anti-system campaign, and business-friendly former Congresswoman Lourdes Flores who hopes to become the first female president. She is just ahead of former left-wing president Alan Garcia.
Lay is placed sixth with slightly less than 4 per cent of the vote, but he remains optimistic.
“I don’t think the polls have reflected the support we have. I think there will be some surprises on Sunday,” he said. Running a low budget campaign, much of the work has been done by word of mouth.
Waving balloons, streamers and shouting “Humberto Lay for president” more than 50,000 people flocked to a central park in central Lima for Lay’s closing campaign rally in the capital, one of the biggest turnouts for any candidate.
Lay said fighting corruption will ensure an efficient state as well as resources for health, education and other sectors.
Peru’s economy has expanded under outgoing President Alejandro Toledo’s government, growing by 6.7 per cent in 2005, but about half of the Andean nation’s 27.2 million people remain mired in poverty, many earning less than 2 US dollars a day.
Evangelical in Peru election race out to ‘change politics’
-08/04/06
A left-wing ex-president, a nationalist ex-army officer, and a female ex-lawmaker are the frontrunners in the race to become Peru’s next president. But a 71-year old evangelical pastor who is also competing is optimistic there will be surprises when the ballot papers are counted, reports Rebecca Howard for Ecumenical News International (www.eni.ch).
“We are called to be the salt and the light and so we must be involved in politics where there are many dark shadows and much need for change,” Pastor Humberto Lay told Swiss-based ENI in a telephone interview just before the 9 April election.
Lay is one of 20 candidates vying for Peru’s presidency in the election and the only evangelical Christian to enter the race in a predominantly Catholic country.
“I realised I couldn’t criticise the government unless I was doing something to heal the nation,” said 71-year-old Lay, an architect by trade and president of the Emmanuel Biblical Church.
He is running on a National Restoration party ticket, based on “Christian and ethical values”, although not all the people on his list are linked to the evangelical church.
“We are open to anyone who shares the same values,” he said, noting that the central plank of his programme for government is to “wage a frontal war against corruption”.
The latest polls suggest the leading candidates are nationalist former army officer Ollanta Humala, running an anti-system campaign, and business-friendly former Congresswoman Lourdes Flores who hopes to become the first female president. She is just ahead of former left-wing president Alan Garcia.
Lay is placed sixth with slightly less than 4 per cent of the vote, but he remains optimistic.
“I don’t think the polls have reflected the support we have. I think there will be some surprises on Sunday,” he said. Running a low budget campaign, much of the work has been done by word of mouth.
Waving balloons, streamers and shouting “Humberto Lay for president” more than 50,000 people flocked to a central park in central Lima for Lay’s closing campaign rally in the capital, one of the biggest turnouts for any candidate.
Lay said fighting corruption will ensure an efficient state as well as resources for health, education and other sectors.
Peru’s economy has expanded under outgoing President Alejandro Toledo’s government, growing by 6.7 per cent in 2005, but about half of the Andean nation’s 27.2 million people remain mired in poverty, many earning less than 2 US dollars a day.