The Congress of Peru does not agree and postpones the debate on the progress of the elections for the third time

The Peruvian Congress postponed Tuesday for the third time the debate and vote on a bill to bring forward the general elections to October this year, a proposal that includes presidential and legislative elections.

The session, already suspended on Monday, was rescheduled for this Wednesday, amid vigorous debates and cross-overs between different political forces, in a divided Parliament and largely at odds with President Dina Boluarte.

“In order to find consensus among the national representations and at the request of the president of the Constitutions Commission, the plenary session convened to approve the early elections is rescheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday at 11:00,” wrote the official Twitter account. Congress President José Williams.

The debate and vote on this legislative initiative, considered crucial In the context of the anti-government protests in the country, they were initially scheduled for this Monday afternoon, but were later postponed to Tuesday morning, then to the same day in the afternoon and finally to Wednesday.

The decision of the head of Parliament, at the request of the Constitutional Commission chaired by Fujimorista Hernando Guerra García, became known when 20 minutes had passed after 16:00 local time, when the parliamentary session was scheduled to start.

tense negotiations

Hours earlier, Guerra García had met together with deputies Lady Camones and Alejandro Cavero, from the right-wing parties Alianza para el Progreso and Avanza País, with the Peruvian Prime Minister, Alberto Otárola, at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in the center of File.

“We are still in negotiations and we are also waiting for one more member who is the Executive and from there I hope we can reach a good agreement”, said the legislator on the bill which proposes to address one of the main demands of the anti-government protests in which 65 people died.

The legislative proposal on electoral advance for October 2023 was rejected last Friday by the plenary session of Parliament, but this Monday the Legislature approved the review of the vote.

After the approval of the review, Guerra García requested a break room to meet separately with each of the political parties to present a text that can generate greater consensus.

Rejection

So far, among the groups that have expressed the greatest rejection of the proposal are the ultraconservative Renovación Popular and the centrist Acción Popular, as well as Peru Libre, the self-proclaimed Marxist party that brought former president Pedro Castillo to power in 2021. sacked on 7 December after a failed self-coup attempt.

Boluarte, who was vice president, immediately assumed command and assured that he would govern until the end of Castillo’s mandate, in July 2026. But, under pressure from the protests and from Congress, he agreed to anticipate them.

Parliament then approved the holding of presidential elections in April 2024. Ma the crisis does not stop and protesters are demanding that elections be held this year.

The project that is presented must be discussed by the parliamentary plenary session e its eventual approval requires the support of 87 of the 130 members of Congress that make up the Peruvian hemicycle.

If approved, the opinion will have to be voted on again in the next legislature, since it is a constitutional reform.

President Dina Boluarte announced on Sunday that if Congress does not approve a snap general election, it will immediately send two bills for the election to be held this year anyway and for total reform of the 1993 constitution within the next legislature.

Source: EFE

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