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Peru President: Electing Constitutional Court members to be deemed refusal of confidence

ANDINA/Prensa Presidencia

00:03 | Lima, Sep. 30.

If Congress on Monday decides to first elect the new Constitutional Court (TC) members, the Executive Power will deem this act as a "refusal of the confidence" it recently requested to Parliament, President Martin Vizcarra affirmed on Sunday night.

Confidence motion

Last week, the President announced that his administration had decided to submit a confidence motion to Congress with the purpose of changing the modality used to select the Constitutional Court members.

On that occasion, he said it is a priority for his administration to comply with the constitutional standards, which guarantee the full independence of the organization.

The top official recalled that the opposition-led Congress had swiftly proposed candidates in half an hour, without taking into account that some of them have links to citizens under investigation for corruption offenses.

The Process

In remarks to Cuarto Poder TV show, the President affirmed that Prime Minister Salvador del Solar will attend Parliament's plenary session in the morning joined by his cabinet to present and support the confidence motion announced and submitted last Friday by his administration to the Legislative Branch.

The cabinet is expected to arrive at Congress at 8:30 AM (local time) before the start of the plenary session. For its part, Parliament intends to elect the court members on the same day, a process that has been questioned by the citizens.

The President went on to add that —if Congress does not discuss the motion first— the Executive Branch will act according to what is established by the Constitution, which considers the dissolution of Parliament.

"This would be taken (as denied confidence) because it has been announced by the President, and there is a document delivered to Congress on Friday," he stated.

The top official mentioned that Parliament must live up to the challenges and listen to the explanation of the motion aimed at modifying the rules for the appointment of court members.

He went on to add this is not a dispute between the President and some lawmakers, but rather a fight against corruption and against the immunity wrongly used as impunity.

The statesman said the confidence motion seeks transparency in the election of the court members, which is the objective of citizens and should be taken into consideration by legislators when making a decision.

He argued that the request to be made by Prime Minister Del Solar is based on the government policies to fight corruption and strengthen the State-run institutions.

I will act in compliance with the Constitution

President Vizcarra affirmed that if Congress does not allow the cabinet chief's presentation before the election of the court magistrates, his administration will act in accordance with the Constitution.

It must be noted the Constitution stipulates Parliament can be dissolved by the Head of State if two cabinets are denied the confidence vote.

As is known, the current Congress had already granted a no-confidence vote to a former Cabinet in September 2017. At that time, Mr. Vizcarra was serving as Vice-President.

"While addressing a topic of such relevance, as is the election of the Constitutional Court —which is the highest institutional entity that ensures respect for the Constitution— if the confidence is denied, we must act according to the Constitution," he underlined.

The statesman assured the nation he assumes all the responsibility involved in the exercise of the office of President of the Republic —including an eventual impeachment process— because he acts in accordance with the law and the Constitution while taking all the corresponding actions for the benefit of the country, and not for private interests.

Vice-President Araoz

The top official indicated he had spoken with Vice-President Mercedes Araoz about the possible scenarios, such as an eventual impeachment against him or resignation of the office of President of the Republic. However, Araoz indicated that —if that were the case— she would assume the presidency until completing the mandate.

"She has told me that she would continue if any of two cases happened, that she has changed her mind. There is a willingness of the Vice-President to continue, that was the conclusion of the meeting," he expressed.

Early general elections

The President also referred to the decision of the Congress' Constitution Commission to shelve the early general elections bill proposed by his administration in his Annual Address to the Nation last July.

"The issue is not closed. After Monday, the day on which the Constitutional Court matter will be assessed, we will analyze the issue again," he said.

Lastly, he affirmed that Congress' Rules of Procedure (Art. 70) lays out that any commission proposes the shelving of a bill, but the only instance that can determine the true removal of a bill is the plenary session, a path that the Executive's initiative has not followed.

Last August, the Head of State affirmed the early general elections would be the only way out of the current political entrapment and urged lawmakers to listen to the people.

Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: La lucha es contra los blindajes y contra la corrupción, no contra unos cuantos congresistas. pic.twitter.com/R64IpmBE3p
— Presidencia Perú (@presidenciaperu) 30 de septiembre de 2019

Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: El #AdelantoDeElecciones no es un tema cerrado. Estábamos dentro del cronograma que establecía el proyecto y, de manera sorpresiva y traicionando al pueblo del Perú, se archivó el proyecto. Estamos cansados de este entrampamiento político. pic.twitter.com/4N9a54dzyI
— Presidencia Perú (@presidenciaperu) 30 de septiembre de 2019

Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: En el 98, a través del ex asesor presidencial, se hacía un esfuerzo por capturar las instituciones del Estado. Cuando habíamos superado eso, no podemos volver a lo mismo tomando la decisión de elegir a los miembros del TC, elegidos en media hora. pic.twitter.com/Nrl6ClTlIn
— Presidencia Perú (@presidenciaperu) 30 de septiembre de 2019

(END) FHG/MVB

Published: 9/30/2019

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Peru President: Electing Constitutional Court members to be deemed refusal of confidence

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