Renovación Popular congresswoman Norma Yarrow defended the reelection bid of Rafael López Aliaga for Mayor of Lima following the resignation of party candidate Luis Rubio.
Yarrow told RPP that nobody was disobeying electoral rules, stating that the Jurado Nacional de Elecciones allowed itself to be bypassed due to legal loopholes in Peruvian law. She said Rubio had submitted his resignation a year and a half ago and stated her belief that reelection should be allowed only once, with family members prohibited from succeeding officeholders.
The lawmaker noted that legal vacuums regularly encourage attempts to sidestep the law, though she stated that this practice was not positive. She said she only learned about Rubio's resignation from media reports on Thursday, adding that Rubio would give his own explanations about stepping down on August 9.
Electoral Board Response
Jurado Nacional de Elecciones President Roberto Burneo told RPP that the presence of López Aliaga on the candidate list of Renovación Popular for the Municipalidad de Lima does not violate electoral regulations. Burneo explained that Rubio resigned one day before the candidate registration deadline, but current legislation permits the situation and rules out any legal irregularity.
Burneo said strategies were being devised to bypass the law, but he maintained that eliminating subnational reelection entirely was a mistake. He argued that district administrators should have longer terms to better organize municipalities.
The electoral chief added that current law does not prohibit a former mayor from running in a different district or aspiring to another position on the same electoral list. He emphasized that the final decision on public office rests with citizens through their vote.
