The Peruvian Congress has shelved this Friday the bill presented by the Peruvian Government to reform the Constitution in order to call general elections for October 2023, in the face of the Andean Parliament’s blockage to agree on an early election.
With 11 votes in favor, 10 against and one abstention, the Constitutional Commission of the Congress has not allowed the measure to be voted in the plenary of the Congress, since the necessary 14 votes have not been reached, as reported by ‘La República’.
The commission, chaired by the pro-Fujimori Hernando Guerra García, has rejected the proposal by appealing to Article 78 of the Magna Carta, which states that the same proposal of identical subject matter cannot be presented until the following annual session, referring to a similar initiative that was already rejected in this legislature by the full Congress.
«The same proposal or another one on the same subject cannot be presented until the following annual period of sessions, unless it is agreed by half plus one of the legal number of congressmen», has reminded one of the members of the Constitution Committee, according to the above-mentioned newspaper.
In this way, a project for an advance of elections cannot be debated until the beginning of the first legislature of the new annual period of sessions next July, so now it is up to the congressmen to reach a consensus on an electoral advance.
So far, the benches have only been able to agree on an early call for elections, which would take place in April 2024. However, when the vote was to be confirmed, the president of Peru, Dina Bolaurte, urged Congress to bring the elections forward to 2023, as demanded by the demonstrators in the protests.
Since then, none of the proposals of the different benches have been carried. Among other reasons, the left demands that the electoral call be linked to the holding of a referendum to establish a Constituent Assembly, an idea that the right rejects.
Last Thursday, the Andean Parliament postponed for the third time the vote on the early convocation of elections.
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE CONGRESS PRESENTS HER RESIGNATION Congresswoman Digna Calle of the conservative Podemos Perú has presented her «irrevocable» resignation to the second Vice-Presidency of the Board of Directors of the Congress, hours after the rejection of the project to bring forward elections to 2023 presented by the Government.
«The Congressmen and the President of the Republic (Dina Boluarte) do not want to take responsibility for the crisis facing the country. We have spent 4 sessions, 11 votes and 20 hours of debate without reaching the necessary consensus», said the congresswoman in a statement reported by RPP radio station.
According to Calle, «it is clear» that the congressmen «do not want to leave or give up their salaries or privileges», assuring that the excuses for a consensus are imposed at the time of the vote.
Likewise, he has demanded the recomposition of the entire Board of the Parliament and the resignation of President Dina Boluarte for the urgent calling of general elections.
CONGRESS REJECTS RECONSIDERATION OF THE BILL The Congressional Constitution Committee has rejected, hours later, a reconsideration of the bill presented by legislator Ruth Luque, of the progressive Juntos por el Perú, in an effort to try once again the possibility of approving the measure.
With nine votes in favor and eight against, the reconsideration did not reach the 14 votes necessary for the proposal to be voted in the plenary of the Andean Parliament.
After this, the congresswoman stated in declarations to the radio station Exitosa that she «does not understand» the behavior of «some» of her colleagues, underlining the urgency of the social and political crisis that the country is going through.
«I am indignant, because I believe that we have to start apologizing to the population for all the bad management (of the situation) carried out by the Congress of the Republic», said the legislator.
«The next annual period of sessions begins in August 2023. When we get to August they will say that elections cannot be held in October, because the authorities informed that elections do not start in one month or two months», she criticized.
In this sense, he remarked that the Peruvian president should resign, alleging that the Congress «is an institution that is not going to reach an agreement». «Instead of presenting a bill to Congress, President Boluarte should resign and find a way out of this crisis,» he said.
Peru is immersed in a deep political crisis after the dismissal of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, who announced last December 7 the dissolution of the Andean Parliament and the establishment of a government of exception.
Following the arrest of the former president, tens of thousands of people came out to protest in various parts of the country to demand the resignation of Boluarte, the dissolution of Congress and the urgent calling of presidential elections. More than 60 people have lost their lives in the riots between demonstrators and security forces.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
