Peruvians head to polls under strict coronavirus measures

Peru's 25.2 million eligible voters have to wear masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus and bring their own pens to mark ballots.

Eighteen candidates officially participated in the presidential election, the highest number of candidates since the 2006 Peruvian general election.

The presidential election will determine the President, the Vice Presidents and the congressional elections will determine the composition of the Congress of Peru. All 130 seats of the unicameral Congress will be contested.

The top two candidates who receive a plurality of the vote proceed to the run-off election, which will take place two months later, in early June.

The winner of the run-off election and the presidential election is the candidate who receives a plurality of the popular vote.

However, if in the first round the candidate who is in the first place already gets more than 50% of the popular vote, that candidate will automatically win the election and a run-off election will no longer be needed.

According to recent polls, the leading candidate garners only about 15% support. (ILKHA)