MADRID, 20 (EUROPA PRESS)
Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, in pretrial detention on charges of rebellion and abuse of authority following the failed self-coup in December 2022, has managed to register his Todo con el Pueblo party after it became known that he intended to run in the 2026 elections. Castillo will only be able to participate in subsequent elections due to the deadline for submitting applications.
This is what Peru's National Elections Board (JNE) stated in a resolution issued earlier this week after verifying that the organization meets the legal requirements: submitting its founding document, bylaws, electoral regulations, membership list, and committee accreditation.
However, the former president's party will only be able to participate in elections after the general elections scheduled for 2026, since the deadline for submitting applications expired last July, before the JNE issued its ruling this Monday.
Castillo's lawyer, Walter Ayala, announced last June that his client hopes to be able to run again in the elections after having emerged victorious in the last one held in June 2021. A year and a half later, he was removed from office and arrested following an attempt to dissolve Parliament and arrogate more powers to himself.
Castillo's term was a true reflection of Peruvian politics, an instability evident in the five governing teams—with more than 70 ministers—he had in just 16 months. Unable to provide stability and direction to the country, he also had to deal with a hostile Congress, even losing the support of his own party, Perú Libre.
His dismissal brought one of Peru's worst recent crises, with nearly 50 deaths due to the security forces' repression of protests against his arrest and against the person who took over, his then-vice president, Dina Boluarte, whose mandate has been called into question.
