The Peruvian Congress planned to continue for the fourth time on Wednesday a debate to advance the general elections in 2023 as a way to cool down the protests against President Dina Boluarte and the same Parliament that in two months of demonstrations have left 58 dead.
The legislators’ meeting was suspended the day before after a consensus could not be found among the 13 political groups to set the exact dates on which the elections would take place and the start of the new presidential and congressional terms. On Monday there were no agreements between the political groups either.
The debate in Parliament, which will resume before noon, takes place amid protests by thousands who for two months have demanded the resignation of Boluarte, as well as that of the members of Parliament.
The mobilizations began at the end of 2022 as a reaction to the removal and imprisonment of then-President Pedro Castillo, who on December 7 tried to dissolve Congress to avoid a vote for his removal from office. After Parliament’s decision to remove him, his vice president Boluarte was sworn in as president and days of protests broke out mainly in the southern Andes and two weeks ago they moved to Lima.
In the event that agreements are not reached within the Peruvian parliament, President Boluarte and the 130 legislators will have to continue in office until 2026, as established by law.
Boluarte has indicated that if an agreement is not reached in Parliament, she will present a bill to request the advancement of elections to October and the start of the new government in the first days of 2024, as well as that the next Congress reform the constitution.
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