Deputy Oscar Reto Otero (Good Governance Party) was elected Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies for the 2026–2027 term, following the election of the Board held at Congress headquarters on Sunday.
Reto, who headed List 1, secured the support of 74 lawmakers, according to the official vote count.
The Board led by Reto Otero is also composed of Anali Marquez Huanca (Together for Peru Party) as First Vice Chairwoman, Harvey Colchado (Now Nation Party) as Second Vice Chairman, and Jose Yataco (Works Civic Party) as Third Vice Chairman.
The former Peruvian Army general took the oath of office by calling for unity among all members of the Chamber of Deputies.
"With the unity of all the lawmakers present in this chamber, because with them, with all of us, we will achieve a better Peru, yes, I swear," he stated.
Afterward, Reto administered the oath of office to the three vice chairs who will serve alongside him on the Board before delivering his inaugural address.
Unlike the election of the Senate's Board, which required a second voting round, the Chairman and his Vice Chairs were chosen in a single ballot that proceeded smoothly, although it included several notable moments.
At one point, Cecilia Chacon, Chair of the Preparatory Committee, had to repeatedly read the provisions of Congress' Regulations concerning the secret ballot after several lawmakers openly showed which of the two lists they had voted for.
In addition, some deputies raised concerns about the ballot papers they had received and requested replacements to avoid the possibility of their votes being invalidated.
The Preparatory Committee agreed to replace the ballots and clarified that no vote containing the mark that prompted the objections would be declared invalid.
After the vote count confirmed the victory of the list headed by Oscar Reto, Deputy Norma Yarrow (Popular Renewal Party), who led List 2, approached her colleague, shook his hand, and exchanged a few words with him as lawmakers from the Good Governance Party and other parliamentary groups applauded.
(END) RAI/CVC/MVB
Published: 7/26/2026