A formal complaint has been filed with the JEE Lima Centro electoral tribunal seeking the exclusion of Rafael López Aliaga from the 2026 municipal elections in Lima. The challenge argues that his candidacy as first councillor for the Renovación Popular party creates an unconstitutional pathway to the mayoralty without a direct vote following the resignation of the party mayoral candidate.
The legal action was triggered after Luis Rubio Idrogo, who initially headed the Renovación Popular ticket as candidate for mayor of Lima, withdrew his candidacy. With Rubio Idrogo exit from the race, López Aliaga became the visible head of the slate, placing him in line to assume the mayoral office directly for the 2027 to 2030 term if the list wins.
The filing submitted to the Special Electoral Jury of Central Lima asserts that this change established a scenario that was not foreseen at the time the candidate list was officially registered. Under Peruvian municipal governance rules, the first councillor automatically succeeds to the mayoralty if the mayoral post becomes vacant, allowing López Aliaga to potentially retake the executive office he held during the previous administration.
Constitutional Challenge and Legal Arguments
The central request in the document relies on Article 194 of the Constitution of Peru, which governs municipal elections and mandates. The complaint asks electoral authorities to examine whether the restructured list configuration constitutes a supervening constitutional incompatibility.
Additionally, the filing calls for an evaluation under Article 103 of the Constitution, which establishes that the law does not protect the abuse of rights. Should electoral officials confirm an incompatibility, the complaint requests the exclusion of López Aliaga candidacy under due process guarantees.
López Aliaga is a Peruvian politician and leader of the conservative Renovación Popular party who previously served as Mayor of Lima. The JEE Lima Centro is the decentralized electoral court responsible for evaluating candidate qualifications and supervising electoral legality in central Lima ahead of the 2026 Regional and Municipal Elections.
Limits of Filing and Alternative Remedies
The text of the complaint explicitly defines the scope of its request, noting that it does not intend to prevent López Aliaga from participating in political life or to deny his political rights. Rather, the document demands that his candidacy be reevaluated in its current form following the resignation of Rubio Idrogo.
The legal submission focuses on whether a candidate can lawfully remain as first councillor on a slate whose mayoral nominee has stepped down, when that position allows immediate succession to the Metropolitan Mayoralty for the 2027 to 2030 term.
If the tribunal decides to exclude López Aliaga, the complaint requests that the remaining candidates on the list be allowed to maintain their candidacies. As an alternative scenario, if JEE Lima Centro determines that exclusion is not appropriate, the filing requests an express and reasoned ruling addressing all constitutional arguments raised.
