Peru's National Elections Jury (Jurado Nacional de Elecciones, JNE) has set the speaking order and matchups for 26 political parties competing for the mayoralty of Lima, splitting them into two groups of 13 for debates on September 21 and 22.
The debates will take place at the Mario Vargas Llosa auditorium of the Biblioteca Nacional del Peru in the San Borja district, part of the campaign for the Regional and Municipal Elections set for October 4.
Group one: Monday, September 21
The first night will feature these 13 parties and their candidates, drawn by lottery:
- Partido Civico Obras: Ricardo Belmont Cassinelli
- Coalicion Transformadora Tierra Verde: Yehude Simon Munaro
- Frente Popular Agricola FIA del Peru (Frepap): Segundo Valdez Zavala
- Partido Morado: Victoria Betzabe La Cruz Garces
- Partido Democratico Somos Peru: Carlos Bruce Montes de Oca
- Juntos por el Peru: Oswaldo Hernan Vargas Cuellar
- Partido Politico Pueblo Consciente: Luis Alberto Huette Tolentino
- Batalla Peru: Samir Frank Quispe Caballero
- Alianza para el Progreso (APP): Elio Fernando Riera Garro
- Partido Patriotico del Peru (PPP): Sandro Caller Gutierrez
- Ahora Nacion: Susel Ana Maria Paredes Pique
- Partido Democrata Verde: Flor de Maria Hurtado Valdez
- Podemos Peru: Daniel Urresti Elera
Group two: Tuesday, September 22
The following 13 parties will debate on the second night:
- Fuerza Popular: Samuel Marcos Daza Taype
- Partido del Buen Gobierno: Carlos Gallardo Neyra
- Partido Popular Cristiano (PPC): Edgardo Renan De Pomar Vizcarra
- Avanza Pais - Partido de Integracion Social: Francis Allison Oyague
- Renovacion Popular: a representative designated by the party
- Alianza Electoral Venceremos: Juan Carlos Alvarado Mestanza
- Fuerza Ciudadana: Ruben Daniel Bonilla Espinoza
- Accion Popular: Carlos Alberto Tejada Noriega
- Partido Politico Nacional Peru Libre: a representative designated by the party
- Vision Peru: Santiago Rosendo Abarca Leon
- Partido Aprista Peruano (APRA): Monica Yadira Yaya Luyo
- Progresemos: Luis Miguel Llanos Carrillo
- Partido Frente de la Esperanza 2021: Elizabeth Maria del Rosario Leon Chinchay
How the debate will run
Each night follows the same four-part format. In the opening block, candidates get a minute and a half to lay out their general vision for the city.
The second block gives participants three minutes to exchange proposals on municipal government directly with an assigned rival or rivals. In the third block, candidates answer two questions drawn from roughly 5,000 collected by the JNE nationwide. The debate closes with a minute and a half for each candidate's final message.
Head-to-head matchups, September 21
For the social-themed exchange block on the first night, the JNE lottery produced five head-to-head pairings and one three-way exchange: Sandro Caller (Partido Patriotico del Peru) against Daniel Urresti (Podemos Peru); Elio Riera (Alianza para el Progreso) against Luis Huette (Pueblo Consciente); Yehude Simon (Tierra Verde) against Carlos Bruce (Somos Peru); Victoria La Cruz (Partido Morado) against Ricardo Belmont (Partido Civico Obras); and Segundo Valdez (Frepap) against Susel Paredes (Ahora Nacion). The three-way exchange groups Oswaldo Vargas (Juntos por el Peru), Flor Hurtado (Partido Democrata Verde) and Samir Quispe (Batalla Peru).
Candidates are then regrouped for two further rounds addressing citizen questions before closing statements, which follow a separate order set by lottery starting with Sandro Caller and ending with Carlos Bruce.
Head-to-head matchups, September 22
The second night's direct-exchange block, centred on social and environmental issues, pairs Monica Yaya (Partido Aprista Peruano) against Francis Allison (Avanza Pais); Luis Miguel Llanos (Progresemos) against Alberto Tejada (Accion Popular); the Renovacion Popular representative against Samuel Daza (Fuerza Popular); Edgardo de Pomar (PPC) against Juan Carlos Alvarado (Alianza Electoral Venceremos); and Carlos Gallardo (Partido del Buen Gobierno) against Santiago Abarca (Vision Peru). The three-way exchange groups Ruben Bonilla (Fuerza Ciudadana), Elizabeth Leon (Partido Frente de la Esperanza 2021) and the Peru Libre representative.
As on the first night, candidates are reshuffled for two rounds of citizen questions, before closing statements in an order that opens with Francis Allison and ends with the Renovacion Popular representative.
Debate themes
The JNE has structured all interventions around four fixed themes. The social axis covers poverty reduction, school infrastructure, drinking water coverage, street lighting, cultural promotion and citizen security plans.
The economic block will centre on policies to regulate street vending. The territorial and environmental axis covers disaster risk management, solid waste collection, urban development and the capital's road infrastructure. The institutional axis will focus on anti-corruption strategies, unblocking stalled public works, and improving execution of the municipal budget.
The Rafael Lopez Aliaga controversy
Renovacion Popular was assigned to the second night of the debate, but its participation has drawn criticism from rival parties, who have described the arrangement as a disguised bid for re-election.
The dispute stems from September 4, when the JNE's full board ratified Rafael Lopez Aliaga's candidacy for first councilman of Lima after rejecting a citizen challenge against it. The board did not rule on whether the earlier withdrawal of mayoral candidate Luis Rubio amounted to a strategy allowing Lopez Aliaga to take over the mayor's office if Renovacion Popular were to win.
Roberto Burneo, president of the JNE, said the full board would ultimately issue the final decision, which could be reached unanimously or by majority. He said the board did not want to get ahead of itself, but noted that, as with any matter of judicial administration, different interpretations existed.
The stance reflects internal divisions within the electoral body. In a similar case in Ancash, board member Gunther Gonzales Barron opposed the candidacy of a sitting mayor running for first councilman. Although he was outvoted, Gonzales argued in his vote that the Constitution does not protect deceit. Separately, 14 parties have asked the JNE to clarify whether a councilman can assume the mayor's office through succession, a question the body has yet to answer.
Carlos Vilela, the JNE's national director of education, said the final decision would be evaluated by the National Elections Jury. He explained that the debate invitation for the second night was agreed by a vote in which 13 of 23 political groups backed extending the invitation to whichever candidate for mayor, or councilman, the JNE ultimately authorises, according to comments he made to Canal N.
Under that agreement, Renovacion Popular is authorised to take part in the September 22 debate, although whether Lopez Aliaga himself will attend has not been confirmed. Renovacion Popular and Partido Politico Nacional Peru Libre are the only two groups appearing without a candidate running directly for mayor.
