For the third time, the Peruvian Congress has postponed the debate and vote on a bill that seeks to bring forward the presidential and legislative elections to October this year. The fourth attempt to analyze the proposal will be at 11:00 am (local time; 1:00 pm Brasilia time) this Wednesday (1).
“With the aim of finding consensus among the national representation and at the request of the president of the Constitution Committee, the plenary session called to approve the anticipation of the elections was rescheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, at 11:00 am”, wrote the president of Congress, José Williams, on his Twitter account.
Since last Monday (30) the vote has been postponed within Congress. Williams’ decision on Tuesday (31) followed a request by the chairman of the Constitution Commission chaired by Fujimorist Hernando Guerra García, 20 minutes before the time for voting on the proposal.
Guerra García even met with congressmen Lady Camones and Alejandro Cavero, from the right-wing parties Alliance for Progress and Advances Country, respectively, and with Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otárola at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in the center of Lime.
“We are still in talks, and we are also waiting for another component, which is the Executive, and from there I hope we can reach a good agreement”, said the parliamentarian about the bill.
So far, the political parties that have shown the most action against the bill are the ultraconservative Renovação Popular, the centrist Ação Popular and the Marxist Peru Livre, the party that brought former president Pedro Castillo to power in 2021.
The bill must receive the approval of 87 of the 130 lawmakers in Congress. If approved, it will need to be put to a vote again in the next legislature, as it is a constitutional reform.
Lima registers protests after new postponement
After the new postponement of the proposal for early elections, thousands of people protested in Lima against the government of President Dina Boluarte and for the closure of Congress. The Peruvian National Police cordoned off a large area in the central region of the capital to prevent violent acts.
According to data from the Ombudsman of the People, 47 protesters have lost their lives since the beginning of the protests in Peru, while a police officer was killed after being burned alive.
The Peruvian National Police also reports that ten deaths were caused by roadblocks, as well as one death in the region of La Libertad. President Boluarte mentioned that a patient died on the road before reaching Lima and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported the death of four Haitians.
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