Peruvian lawmaker Norma Yarrow of the Renovación Popular party has introduced a bill to Congress proposing to extend the term of mayors and regional governors from four to five years.
The legislative initiative would also allow mayors, regional governors, and regional vice governors to run for immediate reelection for a single additional consecutive term.
Under the proposed rules, once an official completes a second consecutive mandate, their spouse, cohabitant, and relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity would be prohibited from running for office in the subsequent term.
The measure aims to strengthen the continuity, efficiency, and long-term planning of local and regional public administration across Peru, according to the proposal text.
Objectives and implementation costs
The text states that changing local authorities every four years triggers frequent institutional transfers and adaptation periods that negatively affect management continuity and public investment projects.
Yarrow noted in the proposal that expanding terms to five years would establish a common timeline between municipal authorities and Peru's national government, aiding the execution of long-term public policies.
The proposal indicates that extending terms would reduce the frequency of administrative handovers while granting citizens a single opportunity to evaluate and ratify local officials through the ballot box.
According to the document, the financial costs of the initiative relate to initial updates to the regulatory framework, adjustments to electoral procedures and systems, and necessary training and public information campaigns.
Opposition concerns over candidate rules
Critics note that Yarrow's proposal does not prevent incumbent mayors or governors from joining candidate lists as first councillor or regional council members in upcoming elections, which would allow covert reelection.
In response to similar concerns, Deputy Víctor Piñán of the opposition Partido Cívico OBRAS coalition submitted a separate bill specifically aimed at preventing covert reelection.
Piñán's proposal follows the resignation of more than 50 mayoral candidates, a maneuver that allows the top councillor candidate on a winning party's list to assume the mayoral office.
The initiative from Piñán seeks to clarify Article 194 of the Peruvian Constitution, which bans immediate mayoral reelection, by explicitly prohibiting barred mayors from running in any position on municipal council candidate lists within the same province or district.
