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Peru President: Executive Branch to introduce confidence motion

ANDINA/Prensa Presidencia

13:22 | Lima, Sep. 27.

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra on Friday afternoon announced that his administration has decided to submit a confidence motion to Congress with the purpose of changing the modality used to select the Constitutional Court members.

According to the Head of State, it is a priority for his administration to comply with the constitutional standards, which guarantee the full independence of that organization.

The Constitutional Court is entrusted with upholding the principle of constitutional supremacy, as it has the authority to review the adequacy of laws, draft laws, and decrees issued by the powers of government.

"We Peruvians should not allow the return to the past, to that shameful past when the agreements under the table were common practice in order to take over the (State-run) institutions, to the detriment of the interests of the great majority (of citizens)," he expressed.

In this sense, the top official recalled that the opposition-led Congress —days ago— swiftly proposed candidates for the court in half an hour, without taking into account that some of them have links to the people under investigation for corruption offenses.

In addition, Parliament intends to elect them next Monday, a process that has been questioned by the citizens.

"This inappropriate use of the institutions puts Peruvian democracy in serious danger. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights itself has expressed its concern over the matter," he said.

For that reason, "the election process of its members must be diverse, public, and transparent."

He went on to add Congress is responsible for guaranteeing all citizens that candidates fulfill the eligibility requirements for the post and that the process is legal, as well as legitimate.

"Democratic institutions exist to serve all Peruvians, and not so a few can make use of them. They exist to guarantee justice and not impunity," President Vizcarra stated.

Remarks were made in a televised address to the nation delivered at the end of Extraordinary Council of Ministers session held this morning.

Congress dismisses early general elections proposal

The latest Council of Ministers' session —the second one held this week— took place after Congress' Constitution Commission on Thursday morning decided to shelve the early general elections bill submitted by the Executive Branch to Parliament last July.

Later that day, Prime Minister Salvador del Solar affirmed that President Vizcarra's administration will not stay with the arms crossed.

"We are going to act with the authority and strength the Constitution and laws grant us, and we are going to act with the responsibility this Parliament has not been able to show (...)," the high-ranking official told reporters from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers' headquarters.

As is known, President Vizcarra's administration had initially proposed calling for the general elections by 2020, one year sooner than initially expected, so that Peruvians would choose a new President, Vice-Presidents, and Congress members.

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.

Dissolution of Congress

Article 134 of the Constitution states that the President of the Republic has the power to dissolve Congress if the latter has passed the motion of censure or denied the vote of confidence to two Cabinets.

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.

¡No vamos a claudicar en la lucha contra la corrupción, y vamos a usar todos los mecanismos que permite la Constitución para garantizar la construcción de una democracia sólida y de un futuro mejor para todos! pic.twitter.com/nd6y1WZxl5
— Presidencia Perú (@presidenciaperu) September 27, 2019

(END) FHG/DTK/MVB

Published: 9/27/2019

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Peru President: Executive Branch to introduce confidence motion

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