A man named Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores has been elected as mayor of Queropalca, a remote district in the Peruvian Andes. The 45-year-old candidate, who stood for the centre-left Ahora Nación party, won 34% of the vote.
In total, 229 residents out of 700 voted for Flores, with local media reporting that the top three candidates were separated by just 42 votes.
Candidate profile and background
According to his candidate profile, the newly elected mayor was born in the central department of Huánuco, 224 miles from the capital, Lima. His unusual forenames are those of two notorious fascist dictators.
This is not the first time a Peruvian politician with such a name has won an election. In 2018, a candidate named Hitler won a mayoral election in the district of Yúngar, beating a rival named Lenin.
Previous election victories
Hitler Guesclin Alba Sánchez defeated Lenin Vladimir Rodríguez Valverde in that contest. During his campaign, Alba told broadcasters 'I'm the good Hitler,' according to local media.
Elsewhere, in Namibia, politician Adolf Hitler Uunona won his fifth consecutive local election last year. Uunona received 85% of the vote in his constituency.
Explanations from namesakes
Uunona has previously explained that he did not understand the significance of his name as a child. 'As a child I saw it as a totally normal name,' he told the BBC.
He later told German newspaper Bild that his father had named him after the Nazi leader, but probably did not understand what Adolf Hitler stood for. 'It wasn't until I was growing up that I realised: This man wanted to subjugate the whole world,' he said. 'I have nothing to do with any of these things.'
