Peru's Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (National Elections Jury, JNE) drew lots on Monday, September 14, to set the order of participation for the 26 parties competing for the mayoralty of Metropolitan Lima in a debate ahead of the 2026 Regional and Municipal Elections. Among them is Renovación Popular, the party led by Rafael López Aliaga.
The debate will run over two days, Monday, September 21, and Tuesday, September 22. Renovación Popular was drawn for the second day, though until the last moment it had been unclear whether the party would take part, given the possibility that the former mayor could return to the post through succession.
López Aliaga's participation has been contested since 14 parties denounced that his candidacy for first regidor, or deputy mayor, which arose after Luis Rubio resigned from the mayoral race, amounts to a disguised reelection maneuver, which is banned under Peru's Constitution. The JNE is Peru's top electoral authority, responsible for overseeing elections and ruling on disputes over candidacies nationwide.
Order of participation set for both days
On the first day, the following parties are scheduled to take part: Obras, Tierra Verde, Partido Morado, Frepap, Somos Perú, Juntos por el Perú, Pueblo Consciente, Batalla Perú, Alianza para el Progreso, Partido Patriótico del Perú, Ahora Nación, Partido Demócrata Verde and Podemos Perú.
Set for Tuesday, September 22 are the Partido del Buen Gobierno, PPC, Avanza País, Renovación Popular, Alianza Venceremos, Fuerza Ciudadana, Acción Popular, Perú Libre, APRA, Progresemos, Frente de la Esperanza and Fuerza Popular.
JNE had already endorsed López Aliaga's candidacy
On September 4, the full JNE had already ratified, by four votes to one, Rafael López Aliaga's candidacy as first regidor of Lima, declaring unfounded an appeal from a citizen who sought to exclude him. The body avoided ruling on whether Rubio's resignation from the mayoral candidacy, which left López Aliaga as the one called to assume the post by succession if the list wins, amounts to a maneuver to evade the constitutional ban on immediate reelection of mayors.
The lone dissenting vote came from magistrate Gunther Gonzales Barrón, who warned that the Constitution does not protect trickery.
Parties demand clarity on succession
Fourteen parties had also asked the JNE to clarify whether López Aliaga could receive the mayoral credential through succession, arguing that the body had left a gap that favors a disguised reelection. The political organizations behind the request were Visión Perú, Podemos Perú, Pueblo Consciente, Partido Patriótico del Perú, PPC, Somos Perú, Demócrata Verde, APRA, Frepap, Batalla Perú, Avanza País, Alianza para el Progreso, Venceremos and Tierra Verde.
Renovación Popular was the only party that voted against the request, calling it an attempt to coerce the electoral body.
