Peru: Congress plenary to elect Chairman who will assume Presidency of Republic

00:30 | Lima, Feb. 18.

The Congress plenary will elect today the new head of the Legislative Branch, who will assume the Presidency of the Republic after the office was left vacant following the approval of a censure motion against Jose Jeri.

In a statement, the Congress of the Republic reported that the four candidacies make up four slates that will compete in Parliament's elections, scheduled for this Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. (local time).

Accordingly, the four candidates for the Congress Board Chairmanship to complete the 2025–2026 Annual Legislative Session—who could potentially assume the Presidency of the Republic—are as follows:

List No. 1: Segundo Hector Acuña Peralta (Honor and Democracy)

List No. 2: Maria del Carmen Alva Prieto (Popular Action)

List No. 3: Edgard Cornelio Reymundo Mercado (Popular Democratic Bloc)

List No. 4: Jose Maria Balcazar Zelada (Free Peru)

Voting by ballot

The parliamentary statement also notes that the session convened for today will be held in person. The electoral process will be conducted using paper ballots.

Therefore, voting through Congress' virtual session platform will not be possible.

The Parliament specified that the submission of candidate slates for the Board is carried out in accordance with the provisions set out in the second paragraph of Article 12 of Congress' Regulations.

Following the approval of the censure motion against Jeri, the plenary will elect a new Legislative Branch Head, who will assume the Presidency of the Republic.

(END) HTC/MVB

Publicado: 18/2/2026