Peru once again faces a severe political crisis as it says goodbye to its seventh president in just 10 years.José Jerí was censured and removed from the highest power of the State after 130 days in office.Congress was responsible for his departure where, in an extraordinary plenary session, the majority voted for the change of the president after a series of controversies in which he has been involved and has given way to a tax investigation for alleged influence peddling, the hiring scandal in the Government Palace and an escalation in citizen rejection after the revelations of the so-called Chifagate.
In a marathon session, which began at 10:00 a.m. and ended after 2:20 p.m., the Plenary Session of Congress decided to approve the motion of censure with 75 votes in favor, 24 against and 3 abstentions.
Previously, the national representation submitted a preliminary question to prevent the voting on the motions of censure and proceed with the figure of presidential vacancy and thus extend the process to remove Jerí from office until March.However, this political move was rejected by the parliamentary majority.
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Institutional pressure increased even more when the Comptroller General of the Republic requested files and proof of payment for several of the contracts questioned in the Presidential Office.At the same time, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office began a preliminary investigation against “those who are responsible” for the modality and personal ties behind the contracts.Although Jeríno could be included directly in the investigation due to his inauguration, the Attorney General’s office did not rule out including him.
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The political context became even more adverse when new questions arose about the president’s private life.Recent reports revealed the holding of private parties with congressmen, ministers and people linked to an alleged prostitution network in Congress, as well as repeated visits by young people to his parliamentary and presidential office, many of whom later agreed to contracts in the State.These events, added to the leak of images and messages on social networks between Jerí and her collaborators, deepened the perception of lack of transparency and ethics in her management.
The dismissal of Jerí activates the presidential succession mechanism provided for in the Constitution. According to parliamentary procedure, the Plenary Session of Congress must convene a new session to elect a new president of Congress, who will assume the leadership of the State on an interim basis until the transmission of command on July 28.
The president of Congress, Fernando Rospigliosi, reported that the new president who will succeed José Jerí in office will be elected this Wednesday, February 18 at 6:00 p.m.
