The new election proposal from Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, which hopes to appease the country's social and political crisis and was approved in the virtual Council of Ministers, declares that "the President of the Republic, as well as the elected parliamentarians, will assume their mandate in December 2023."

The new initiative, followed by one that was already rejected by Congress, wants to advance new elections, specifically the first round, for Oct. 8, 2023.

“The legislative proposal, approved in the virtual Council of Ministers today, provides that the President of the Republic call General Elections to elect the President and Vice Presidents of the Republic, as well as the Congressmen of the Republic, on the second Sunday of month of October of the year 2023,” highlighted the statement from the President of Peru.

An intense discussion

After five hours of debate, Congress rejected the second proposal that sought to plan the elections for December of this year and the transfer of power by May 2024. The initiative needed 87 votes to be approved, but it only got 54 votes in favor, 68 against, and two abstentions.

Boluarte, who had made an urgent call on Sunday to Congress to approve the advancement of the elections in the face of the violent social crisis that has shaken the country since Dec. 7, said that if she was not heard, she would seek to promote constitutional reforms to achieve that goal. 

#NotaDePrensa Ejecutivo presenta proyecto que plantea elecciones generales para el segundo domingo de octubre de 2023 https://t.co/HI1AyHTJZt. pic.twitter.com/yqggSyWjOe

— Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos (@MinjusDH_Peru) February 2, 2023

This is the fourth attempt made by Boluarte to advance the elections to 2023, after Congress rejected the three previous proposals, marked by the interest of left-wing lawmakers conditioning their vote in exchange for a referendum to form a Constituent Assembly.

Temporary constitutional reforms

The petition to the Congress of Peru incorporates four special transitory provisions into the Constitution:

1. The 1st specifies that the President of the Republic, currently in office, concludes her term on Dec. 31, 2023. The congressmen would culminate their representation on Dec. 29, 2023; and the representatives before the Andean Parliament, on Dec. 31, 2026.
2. The 2nd provision refers to the fact that the President of the Republic elected in 2023 takes an oath by law and assumes office, before Congress, on Dec. 31, 2023, and concludes his term on July 28, 2028. It adds that the elected congressmen in 2023 take the oath of law and assume office on Dec. 29 of that year and conclude their representation on July 26, 2028.
3. The 3rd indicates that the bodies involved in the electoral process adopt the actions within their competence for the optimal and timely execution of the electoral process.
4. The 4th indicates that Congress can approve other laws for the 2023 General Elections, until Feb. 28 of this year.

"We reiterate our call for this legislative initiative to be seen by Parliament with a sense of responsibility and the urgency that the country demands," was posted through the Twitter account of the president.