San Juan de Bigote elections annulled following electoral material damage

The Special Electoral Jury (JEE) of Morropón has declared the total nullity of municipal district elections in San Juan de Bigote, Piura, following acts of vandalism on October 4. According to the JEE, a group of individuals forcibly entered polling stations and destroyed electoral material, affecting 20 of the 23 installed voting tables. This damage prevented poll workers from conducting proper scrutiny and processing votes.

The decision, based on Article 36 of the Municipal Elections Law, follows reports that while some intact ballots and documentation were recovered, the integrity of the electoral process could not be guaranteed.

Santiago Paz, a regional government candidate for Somos Perú, has rejected the nullity decision and announced an appeal to the National Jury of Elections (JNE). Paz criticized the resolution as “nefasta” (disastrous), arguing that authorities should have reviewed the recovered and sealed ballots before declaring the election void. He claims that the votes from this district could represent a margin of 1,500 to 2,000 votes, which could impact the regional race and the second-round runoff scheduled for November 29.