Peru's parliament rejected on Thursday (February 2nd) a new proposal to bring forward elections to the end of this year and also to hold a referendum on a constituent assembly in the hope of calming the current wave of protests.
The bill, presented by the left-wing Peru Libre party, was rejected by 75 deputies, while 48 voted in favor and two abstained.
"The reform did not reach the number of votes (...) therefore the bill was not approved", declared José Williams, president of the Congress, after a debate which lasted a little more than four hours.
Following this fourth rejection, the parliamentarian Jaime Quito, author of the proposal, declared that "the Congress must close. What will happen is that Dina Boluarte will have to resign".
>> To read also on France24.com: Crisis in Peru: the "country has been ungovernable for years"
This demand was repeated by the demonstrators, who again took to the streets of the capital Lima on Thursday.
These demonstrators demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, but also the dissolution of Parliament, largely discredited in public opinion, general elections and a Constituent Assembly.
On Wednesday, Congress had already rejected a bill to bring forward this election scheduled for April 2024. The presidency had regretted this decision and had "immediately" presented another initiative to organize elections in October this year.
The protest has already claimed 48 lives in seven weeks.
>> See also on France 24: CAP AMERICAS - Demonstrations in Peru: the reasons for the anger against President Boluarte
With AFP
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