The Peruvian Congress yesterday rejected a request by embattled Peruvian President Dina Boluarte to bring forward elections to December, as protests that have killed dozens rage on against her leadership.
The South American country has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily protests since Dec. 7, when former president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
Demanding that Boluarte resign and call fresh elections, Castillo supporters have erected roadblocks on highways, causing shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies.
Photo: Reuters
The government said that it would soon deploy police and soldiers to clear the roadblocks.
Lawmakers last month agreed to bring forward elections from 2026 to April next year.
In the face of relentless protests, Boluarte on Friday urged Congress to call the vote for December, describing the political crisis as a “quagmire.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, in a plenary session held early yesterday, the Congress rejected the proposal, with 45 votes in favor, 65 against and two abstentions.
Leftist parties had demanded that the advancement of elections be accompanied by a constitutional convention — something protesters have repeatedly called for.
“With this vote, the constitutional reform proposal for the advancement of elections is rejected,” Peruvian President of the Congress Jose Williams said, after more than seven hours’ debate.
Following the vote, Williams received a request for “reconsideration,” which could be debated tomorrow in a new session, although it would be difficult to reverse the decision.
Protesters have demanded immediate elections, as well as Boluarte’s removal, the dissolution of Congress and a new constitution.
“Nobody has any interest in clinging to power,” Boluarte said. “I have no interest in remaining in the presidency. If I am here it is because I fulfilled my constitutional responsibility.”
As Castillo’s vice president, Boluarte was constitutionally mandated to replace him after Congress impeached him and he was arrested.
The US Department of State on Friday said that it remained concerned about the violent demonstrations as it called “for calm dialogue and for all parties to exercise restraint and nonviolence,” spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
In seven weeks of protests since Castillo’s arrest, 47 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, the Ombudsman’s Office of Peru said.
The autonomous human rights office said that another 10 civilians — including two babies — were collateral fatalities when they were unable to get medical treatment or medicine due to roadblocks.
In southern regions, weeks of roadblocks have resulted in shortages of food and fuel.
“There’s no gas, there’s no petrol. In grocery stores all you get is nonperishables and everything is very expensive, up to three times the normal price,” marketing employee Guillermo Sandino said in Ica, a city 200km south of Lima that connects the capital to the south.
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