Peru has a new interim president following the removal from office of José Jerí by Congress over allegations of influence peddling, which Jerí has denied.
Member of Congress elected José María Balcázar, 83, to lead the country on an interim basis until the end of July – when a new president, who will be chosen in a general election, will be sworn in.
Balcázar, from the left-wing Free Peru party, is the eighth president to govern Peru since 2016, with several previous leaders also deposed by Congress.
He said he would “guarantee the people of Peru a peaceful and transparent democratic and electoral transition”.
The first round of the presidential election will be held on 12 April, but with dozens of candidates vying for the top job it is unlikely that any of them will receive the 50% of the votes needed to win outright.
A run-off between the top two candidates, due to be held on 12 June, is therefore highly likely.
While previous presidents can run for a second term, the two terms cannot follow on from each other, meaning that both José Jerí and José María Balcázar are barred from standing.
Opinion polls suggest the top two candidates are right-wing Congresswoman Keiko Fujimori, whose father Alberto Fujimori ruled from 1990 to 2000, and the mayor of the capital, Lima, Rafael López Aliaga.
But the polls suggest that the vast majority of Peruvians have not yet decided who they will cast their vote for.
José María Balcázar will be in charge until the swearing-in ceremony of whoever wins is held on 28 July.
The former judge has been criticised for his opposition in Congress against a bill which outlawed child marriage. The bill was approved despite his vote against it.
Balcázar takes the reins of power at a time when trust in politicians is very low and has been further rocked by the graft allegations which led to Jerí’s ouster.
One Lima resident told the Reuters news agency: “In 10 years, how many presidents have we had? It’s an enormous setback for the country.”
Another was quoted as saying that he had “gotten used to this crisis, because we’re really in a crisis where Congress only dedicates itself to changing the president and looking out for their own well-being”.
Jerí was forced out of office by Congress on Tuesday when lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of censure motion, which led to his immediate removal from the presidency.
The vote followed a scandal dubbed “Chifa-gate” – a local name for Chinese-Peruvian fusion food and the restaurants which serve it.
The controversy centred on several meetings Jerí had outside his official schedule with a Chinese businessman.
This businessman, Zhihua Yang, was under government scrutiny and while Jerí apologised for the meetings, the fact that he had not disclosed them – as he is obliged to do under Peruvia law – arose suspicion.
In one of the videos, Jerí could be seen wearing a hooded top during a late-night visit at one of Yang’s restaurants.
He denied any wrongdoing and accused his rivals of a public smear campaign but he soon faced further criticism after it emerged that state contracts had been awarded to a number of women following late-night meetings they had with him in the presidential palace.
Jerí maintains his innocence and following his ouster said that it had been an honour to have served as Peru’s president.
He was in office for just four months, having replaced former leader Dina Boluarte, who was impeached in October last year.
Source: BBC
