Man named Hitler Mussolini elected mayor in Peru

A man named Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores has secured a narrow victory in Peru's local elections, exit polls show.

The candidate for the centre-left Ahora Nación party was elected mayor of Queropalca, a remote district in the Peruvian Andes.

Some 229 residents voted for the 45-year-old, putting him ahead of the second-place candidate from right-wing Renovación Popular Perú by just 25 votes.

Despite being elected to represent fewer than 1,000 people, his forenames being those of two notorious fascist dictators has drawn outsized international attention to the small corner of the country.

Data from Peru's elections office showed a little over 700 people had participated in the election, with Simeon securing around 34% of the vote.

He was born in the district in the central department of Huánuco, some 360km (224 miles) from the capital, Lima, according to his candidate profile.

That he shares his name with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini - "two of the most well-known figures of 20th-Century European totalitarian regimes" - has made his candidacy a "striking event", local outlet Peru21 reported.

Despite the curiosity generated by his name, local media noted that Hitler Guesclin Alba Sánchez had been elected mayor of Yúngar in 2018.

He reportedly beat rival candidate Lenin Vladimir Rodríguez Valverde after campaigning on the slogan "I'm the good Hitler".

A politician named Adolf Hitler Uunona attracted similar attention in 2020 after winning local elections in Namibia - a former German colony where Adolf and other Germanic first names are not uncommon.