Lime – In the first vote this Tuesday, the plenary session of the Congress of Peru approved a constitutional reform in order to bring forward elections in the Andean country to April 2024in line with the proposal agreed by different parliamentary benches and in the midst of a political and social crisis in Peru with fierce protests at national level.
Although a popular motion, supported even by electoral bodies, indicated that the general election should be brought forward to 2023, Congress finally decided to extend the deadline to April 2024. as proposed by the Executive Branch’s first initiative; with the premise of approving some political reforms.
There were 93 yes votes, defining approval for the reform, as a minimum of 87 votes were required to give the initiative the green light. The second vote is still missing for full approval of the reform, but it can only be voted on in the next legislature of Congress -since March 2023- because it is an amendment to the Peruvian constitution.
87 yes votes are also required for this second ballot. Otherwise the reform cannot be approved.
If the constitutional reform brings the elections forward to April 2024, Peru’s next president would not take office until July 28 of this year.; while the next Congress of the Republic would assume its duties on July 26, 2024.
NEWS IN DEVELOPMENT…