The rumors that the Executive had a new bill ready to anticipate the call for general elections in December 2023 and send it to the Congress They arose very early yesterday and intensified with the unexpected arrival of the Prime Minister, Alberto Otárola, at the Legislative Palace, shortly after noon, where he spoke with the head of Parliament, José Williams.
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Sources from Peru21 even confirmed that the proposal had the endorsement of President Dina Boluarte, not only echoing the climate of social upheaval that continues to affect different regions of the country, but also the opinions of the JNE authorities and the ONPE and experts, who have stated that it is possible to hold elections in December of this year.
In the end, however, neither the president nor the head of the cabinet, in different scenarios, spoke about it and, rather, they alluded to the initial approach, which foresees an electoral process in April 2024.
EXIT TO THE CRISIS
Before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), Boluarte -in a virtual participation- recalled that his government has already presented an initiative to this end to Parliament “and we are determined to materialize that commitment since the future and stability are at stake of our country,” he stressed. In her intervention, the president made a summary of what happened in recent weeks; He spoke of the “irreparable loss of human lives” and the extensive damage to public and private property due to the blockades and demonstrations, defended the right of the State to ensure security and internal order, and warned that “in a complex situation for Peruvian democracy, I am not going to surrender to authoritarian groups that want to impose solutions that are not part of our constitutional order. “Free and democratic elections are the way out of the crisis,” she said.
ELECTION SCHEDULE
For his part, Premier Otárola, who met with the Board of Directors of Congress, commented, at the end of the meeting, that “we are satisfied with the (electoral) schedule that has been established.” And he added that he “urges” that the Executive project – which contemplates elections for April 2024 – “be approved in a second vote.” Even in this scenario, there is no certainty of the date either, since in the second vote it is not guaranteed that the approval will reach 87 votes or more.
Meanwhile, the Cambio Democrático bench presented a project that advances the elections to October 2023 and that contemplates that the new head of state, Andean congressmen and parliamentarians would take office on January 1, 2024. The proposal must still be debated in the Constitution Commission.
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
- The board of directors of the National Assembly of Regional Governments met with the heads of the JNE and the ONPE, who confirmed that there is only until March 15 the deadline to call general elections for this year.
- The left-wing blocs filed a vacancy motion for permanent moral incapacity against Boluarte for the deaths recorded in the protests.
