The advance of general elections returned to zero pages after the decision of the Congress of not approving the substitute text that proposed holding new elections for the election of the president of the Republic, congressmen and Andean parliamentarians in October of this year.
What it is time now is to return to the subject in the Constitution Commission where the debate and approval of the main political reforms should also be accelerated. This was pointed out to Peru21 the spokespersons for the Alliance for Progress, Eduardo Salhuana, and Fuerza Popular, Patricia Juárez.
As is known, in the early hours of last Saturday, the Plenary of Congress rejected by 65 votes the project that anticipated the general elections to October 2023 and that, consequently, terminated the term of President Dina Boluarte on December 31.
Those 65 votes came almost en bloc from the left-wing blocs: Perú Libre, Bloque Magisterial, Perú Bicentenario, Perú Democrático, who were joined by legislators from Acción Popular, Renovación Popular, Avanza País, Podemos and Somos Perú. There were only 45 votes in favor and 2 abstentions. As soon as the vote was concluded, however, a request for reconsideration of the vote was presented, which will be voted on this Monday, January 30, in plenary.
We must speed up the debate on reforms
“We are at zero. The position of the leftist parties that want to impose an agenda based on violence and the deaths that they tell in a macabre way for their political interests was predictable,” said the legislator and alternate spokesperson for APP, Eduardo Salhuanawho added that after voting on the reconsideration, the Constitution Commission must speed up the discussion and approval of the reforms.
“We never should have reconsidered the vote on the project that set the elections for April 2024. The will of an important sector was to hold the elections this year to contribute to a way out of the crisis, but there are sectors that are not interested in that but in deepening the crisis so that his political project, which goes through a Constituent Assembly, becomes a reality”, he reflected.
The spokesperson for Fuerza Popular, Patricia Juarezalso maintained that the discussion of the advancement of elections has returned to a starting point.
“We will see what happens with the reconsideration. If it is admitted, we will be able to debate the issue again, ”he commented, adding that, otherwise, the Constitution group will have to prepare a new opinion to present it to the Plenary.
“We have made every effort to fix this. A reconsideration was presented to advance the elections, the proposal was made in October, but the majority group on the left opposes it because their proposal is the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and the referendum for a Constituent Assembly and these are two things that are constitutionally and democratically impossible. They know that the answer is no and they take the situation to extremes to bring water to their mill and generate more chaos and lack of control, ”he said.
