According to the official resolution issued by the JEE Lima Oeste 1, the electoral board excluded San Miguel Mayor Eduardo Bless from the Avanza País list for the District Council. The tribunal determined that his candidacy for first regidor constituted a covert reelection prohibited by Article 194 of the Constitution.
JEE Lima Oeste 1 Decision Against Eduardo Bless
The electoral board based its ruling on a specific sequence of facts regarding the San Miguel municipal race. Eduardo Bless had originally registered as first regidor in a formula headed by Karin García as the mayoral candidate. According to the case details, García subsequently resigned, leaving the party without a head of list and placing Bless in that leadership position in practice. The resolution explicitly stated that these circumstances created an unconstitutional incompatibility with the prohibition of immediate reelection for mayors under the third paragraph of Article 194 of the Political Constitution of Peru.
Avanza País legal representative Aldo Fabrizio Borrero Rojas defended the candidacy in his written defense submitted to the board. He requested that the exclusion request be declared inadmissible, arguing that the challenge was effectively filed out of time. Furthermore, Borrero Rojas maintained that the contested situation does not appear as a valid ground for exclusion under Article 41 of the Regulation for the Registration of Candidate Lists for the 2026 Municipal Elections. Hours after the ruling, Avanza País released a public statement labeling the resolution arbitrary and confirming plans to appeal the decision before the JNE.
Legal Precedent From Áncash and the JNE Stance
The upcoming appeal by Avanza País directly confronts a recent precedent established by the JNE regarding a similar electoral dilemma in Áncash. In that case, Percy Villanera Figueroa, mayor of the Pontó district, ran as first regidor for Somos Perú after his party’s mayoral candidate was disqualified over an unaddressed observation. Although a citizen filed a challenge against Villanera Figueroa over concerns that he could reclaim the mayoral seat, the JEE Huari rejected it, and the Pleno of the JNE subsequently confirmed that rejection by majority vote.
During the Áncash review, JNE tribunal president Roberto Burneo, alongside magistrates Aarón Oyarce and Rubén Torres, argued that no legal identity exists between the office of mayor and that of councilman. They maintained that excluding such a candidacy would impose a restriction on political participation not explicitly contemplated by law. However, magistrate Gunther Gonzáles issued a dissenting vote in favor of exclusion, warning that constitutional reelection prohibitions apply to any direct or indirect mechanism designed to evade them. The JEE Lima Oeste 1 noted that its ruling against Bless applies exclusively to the specific facts of the San Miguel expediente, leaving the JNE room to differentiate or align the two cases on appeal.
Did You Know?
Article 194 of the Political Constitution of Peru establishes the constitutional prohibition against the immediate reelection of municipal mayors, a restriction that electoral boards apply to prevent indirect maneuvers for retaining local power.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Eduardo Bless excluded from the Avanza País list?
The JEE Lima Oeste 1 excluded Eduardo Bless because it determined that his shift to the top of the list following the mayoral candidate’s resignation constituted a covert reelection prohibited by Article 194 of the Constitution.
What arguments did Avanza País present in defense of the candidacy?
Legal representative Aldo Fabrizio Borrero Rojas argued that the exclusion request was a late-filed challenge and that the cited situation does not qualify as an exclusion ground under Article 41 of the 2026 municipal election regulations.
How does the Áncash precedent affect this case?
The JNE previously upheld a similar candidacy for Mayor Percy Villanera Figueroa in Áncash by ruling that mayoral and council roles are distinct. Avanza País plans to appeal the San Miguel ruling to the same instance, though the Lima board specified its decision relies strictly on the facts of Bless’s file.
How will the JNE resolve the tension between strict constitutional reelection bans and existing political participation precedents?
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