Peru's ONPE leadership contest declared void by Justice Board

The Peruvian Junta Nacional de Justicia (JNJ) voted unanimously to declare the public merit competition for the head of the Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales (ONPE) empty. The decision followed the resignation of candidate Amparo Ortega Campana on health grounds and the exclusion of the remaining finalist, Carlos Loyola Escajadillo, after the JNJ found he had failed to disclose two pending judicial processes.

With the contest voided, the ONPE will continue under interim director Bernardo Pachas, who has already faced internal disputes and the recent resignation of the agency’s secretary general. The episode adds to an ongoing institutional crisis within the electoral body ahead of upcoming regional and municipal elections.