PERU · ELECTIONS
Key Facts
- —The country Peru is an Andean nation of about 34 million people and a major copper and gold exporter. Lima is its capital and business hub.
- —What happened Avanza País asked the National Elections Jury (JNE), Peru’s top electoral court, to order a Lima mayor runoff, local media reported on Monday 12 October.
- —Why it matters The request could delay the naming of Lima’s next mayor. The close race pits conservative Rafael López Aliaga’s party against Francis Allison’s Avanza País.
- —The argument Avanza País says Lima also holds regional-government powers, so the 30% vote threshold used for regional governors should apply to its mayor.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket gives López Aliaga an 85.7% chance of becoming Lima mayor (13 October, 2:43 a.m. ET).
- —Still open The JNE has not answered the request. Officials are still adding disputed tally sheets to the count as electoral courts rule on them.
A Peruvian party has asked the election court to order a Lima mayor runoff, arguing that no list won 30% of the valid votes. The request by Avanza País became public on Monday 12 October, eight days after Peru’s municipal and regional elections.
For US companies, investors and travellers, the dispute decides how fast Lima, Peru’s capital and business hub, learns who will run it. It also adds a new front to the legal fight over conservative Rafael López Aliaga’s return to City Hall.
What Avanza País Asked the Election Court
Avanza País sent its written request to the National Elections Jury (JNE) through its legal representative, Aldo Borrero, El Comercio reported. It asks for a second round between the two lists with the most votes in the 4 October election.
Both El Comercio and Exitosa report that the party proposed Sunday 29 November for a Lima mayor runoff. Its core claim is that the winning list must reach at least 30% of valid votes before it can be proclaimed.
The party also asked the local special electoral jury (JEE), the first-level election court for Lima, not to proclaim a mayor yet. It wants no credentials issued until the full JNE rules on the request.
According to El Comercio, Avanza País does not challenge the votes, the tally sheets or the count itself. The filing is a legal argument about which rule applies to the capital.
Why the Party Says Lima Is Different
Avanza País is the party of Francis Allison, mayor of the Lima district of Magdalena del Mar and its candidate for city mayor. It argues that Lima runs under a special constitutional and legal regime.
In that regime, the city government also exercises administrative and regulatory powers that belong to a regional government, Exitosa reports. Regional governor races in Peru go to a second round when no candidate wins at least 30% of valid votes.
The JNE set that regional second round for Sunday 6 December, it announced on 10 October, moving it from 29 November. The party’s proposed date of 29 November follows that earlier calendar, El Comercio notes.
Allison backed a Lima mayor runoff in his own words. “It should happen in Lima, provided one of the two does not reach 30%,” he told Exitosa.
He added that a win by a minimal margin would not be healthy for the stability of the city government, Exitosa reported.
The López Aliaga Question
The other contender is Renovación Popular, the conservative party of Rafael López Aliaga. He won the Lima mayor’s race in 2022, the electoral expert Fernando Tuesta told La República.
López Aliaga now sits on his party’s list as deputy mayor, after its original mayoral candidate withdrew, La República and El Comercio report. Peru bars mayors from immediate re-election.
In its filing, Avanza País argues that letting him take office this way would amount to a “reelección encubierta”, a disguised re-election. El Comercio reports that the party wants the JNE to rule on this before any proclamation.
Where the Lima Count Stands
The National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) runs the count. It said on Monday 12 October that it had processed tally sheets from all 89,935 polling tables by 10 October.
Neither leading list is close to 30%. With about 93% of Lima tally sheets counted, Renovación Popular had 27.7% and Avanza País 26.8%, La República reported on 12 October.
Sheets with observations or challenges went to the special electoral juries. Those juries compare copies of each sheet and, if needed, recount the ballots.
Their rulings can be appealed within three working days, and the JNE then has three days to decide, ONPE explained. Only after those rulings does ONPE add the votes to the official total.
The juries were due to begin public recount hearings on Monday 12 October. The JNE said on 11 October that 105 hearings had been scheduled by Sunday midday.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, a betting platform, traders give López Aliaga an 85.7% chance of winning the Lima mayor race. The price rose 6.9 points in 24 hours (13 October, 2:43 a.m. ET).
On Kalshi, a US exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), López Aliaga traded at 88% at the same time. The Polymarket market has drawn about US$539,000 in bets.
Neither market prices a runoff separately, so both show only who traders expect to end up as mayor.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for You
Nothing changes for visitors or residents in Lima while the Lima mayor runoff request is pending. City services run as normal while the count and the legal dispute continue.
For businesses and investors, a Lima mayor runoff fight is a test of how quickly Peru settles close local results. A drawn-out dispute would leave the capital’s next government in doubt for weeks.
What Is Not Known
The JNE has not said whether it will hear the Lima mayor runoff request or when. Neither El Comercio nor Exitosa reported any response from the court on Monday.
It is also not known on which day Avanza País filed its brief. Whether the recounts change the order of the two leading lists, and when a winner is proclaimed, remains open.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lima normally have a runoff for mayor?
No. In provincial mayor races, including Lima’s, the list with the most votes wins, while regional governors need at least 30% of valid votes. Avanza País argues Lima should follow the regional rule because the city also holds regional powers.
Who is asking for the Lima mayor runoff?
Avanza País, the party of Francis Allison, made its request public on Monday 12 October. It says it wants to set a precedent of broad support for Lima mayors.
When would a Lima mayor runoff take place?
Avanza País proposed Sunday 29 November. The election court has not ruled, and it has set the regional second round for 6 December.
Sources: ONPE: ONPE contabiliza actas conforme recibe resoluciones de los jurados electorales especiales, 12 October 2026; JNE: El 6 de diciembre será la Segunda Elección Regional, 10 October 2026; JNE: Jurados Electorales Especiales iniciarán audiencias públicas de recuento de votos, 11 October 2026; El Comercio: Avanza País solicita al JNE que realice una segunda vuelta para la Alcaldía de Lima, 12 October 2026; Exitosa: Avanza País pide al JNE segunda vuelta en Lima, 12 October 2026; La República: Avanza País de Francis Allison pide al JNE segunda vuelta en Lima si nadie llega al 30% de votos, 12 October 2026; La República: JNE buscaría eludir decisión de proclamar a López Aliaga como alcalde, 11 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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