City
Epaper

Peru's President Vizcarra calls for early general elections

By IANS | Updated: July 29, 2019 06:25 IST

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra on Sunday proposed moving up elections by a year as a way to overcome an impasse between the executive and congressional branches.

Open in App

The proposal to move up elections from 2021 to 2020 comes after the opposition-controlled congress agreed to pass Vizcarra's package of corruption-fighting reforms, but only after watering down the bill, Xinhua reported.

"Taking into account that the trust requested for the reforms has been approved only in words and denied in facts, I have decided, as a consequence, to once again put the interests of Peru above all," Vizcarra said during a nationwide address marking Independence Day on Sunday.

"I propose a way out of this institutional crisis. I present Congress a constitutional reform for the calling of early general elections, which implies cutting the congressional mandate to July 28, 2020," he added.

The reform would also shorten his presidential mandate, acknowledged Vizcarra.

"With this action, the foundations of our republic will be reinforced, even if it means we must all go," he said.

The initiative is to be put to a referendum so Peruv can have a direct say in the matter, he said.

Vizcarra's reforms aim to curb rampant corruption in government, and follows a string of scandals that have undermined the public's trust.

The reforms call for barring politic convicted of corruption from running for public office; greater campaign finance controls; giving the judiciary greater power to strip legislators of immunity from prosecution if suspected of graft; strengthening grassroots participation in political parties; and promoting gender equality, among other things.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: VizcarraPeruXinhuacongress
Open in App

Related Stories

NationalED Flags ‘Grave Legal Errors’ in National Herald Ruling, Moves Delhi HC Against Cognisance Refusal

NationalLokmat Parliamentary Awards 2025: Digvijay Singh Honoured With Lifetime Achievement Award

MumbaiJolt to Congress Ahead of Local Body Polls as MLC Pradnya Satav Set to Join BJP: Reports

MaharashtraBMC Elections 2026: NCP Will Be Kept Out of BJP-Sena Alliance To Split Secular Votes, Says Congress Leader Vijay Wadettiwar

MumbaiBMC Elections 2026: Cryptic 'Marathi Manoos' Posters Surface Across Mumbai Ahead of Civic Polls

International Realted Stories

InternationalSan Francisco Power Outage: Nearly 130,000 Homes Without Power After Fire at PG&E Substation

InternationalSydney terror attack: Australia marks Day of Reflection for victims, orders intelligence review

InternationalBangladesh officials say no evidence found of derogatory remarks by lynched Hindu youth

InternationalTaiwan: Taipei stabbing spree was planned, suspect visited area before attack

InternationalBrazilian president warns armed intervention in Venezuela would be 'humanitarian catastrophe'