Overview
- The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones issued a final ruling, on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, that columnists say would result in Jeanette Alonzo being declared mayor of Lima despite not having run for that office.
- The dispute stems from a vacancy created when Luis Rubio resigned his mayoral candidacy and from a JNE majority decision that barred first regidores who ran while in office from receiving mayoral credentials.
- Rafael López Aliaga has announced a legal challenge to the JNE decision, and his team has signaled criminal complaints against JNE officials for abuse of authority and prevarication.
- Critics in national outlets and the justice minister say the JNE allowed 'postulaciones encubiertas' (disguised candidacies) to proceed, changed or clarified rules after the race began, and failed to warn voters that votes for a regidor could not install that person as mayor.
- Commentators call for an urgent overhaul of Peru's fragmented electoral system—JNE, ONPE and Reniec—saying late fixes and shifting rules erode legal certainty, risk citizen trust, and could shape politics for years.