Silvia Monteza: “Congressmen are not subject to an imperative mandate”

Silvia Monteza, the new second vice president of the Congress, said that both her bench and the parliamentary board of directors would meet to reassess whether to put on the agenda before the general election. However, he defended the votes he received in the last legislature when the investigations into former President Pedro Castillo were discussed.

“Congressmen are not subject to an imperative mandate, I think we have our own opinion. If we voted that way, it’s because we did the analysis at the time. If I voted against[Castillo’s first vacancy]it was because the president had recently moved in and there was not enough evidence,” he said in press statements.

Silvia Monteza emphasized that the agenda of congressmen early election, but acknowledged that Popular Action does not support revisiting the debate. However, he stressed that the Board of Directors will prioritize dialogue with the government in order to reach consensus.

“We’re going to meet as a Board of Directors on Monday and that’s where we’re going to make a decision. I can’t put forward any opinion until we meet. I believe that this will be a priority (advancing the elections). The people’s action has not yet signed the document on the revision of the debate,” he said.

New replacement in Congress

The plenary session of the Congress elected this Friday MP Silvia Montesa of Popular Action as Second Vice President of the Parliament’s Board of Directors, headed by José Williams.

The congresswoman defeated the other four contenders in the first round with 52 votes; however, failing to garner the required number of votes, a second vote was given in which he competed with Alfredo Azurin (Somos, Peru).

Silvia Monteza won with 67 votes, while Azurin barely got 27. Thus, she will take the position left by Congresswoman Digna Calle. The MP took office today in a short swearing-in ceremony hosted by José Williams.

The other candidates were José Balcazar (Free Peru), Isabel Cortes (Cambio Democrático-Juntos por el Perú) and Elisabeth Medina (Bloque Magisterial de Concertación Nacional).
115 congressmen voted on this issue.

Boluarte calls for early elections

President Dina Boluarte has urged Congress to agree to determine the progress of the general election after Parliament recently rejected an executive branch’s initiative to set a date for new elections.

During a press conference held at the Government Palace, the president recalled that her leadership had submitted two projects to advance the elections. Thus, he called on the parliament to take a “responsible” attitude towards what a part of the population demands.