Why did Hernando Guerra Garcia take the initiative to postpone the elections to 2023?

President of the Constitutional Commission of the Congress Hernando Guerra-Garcia (Power of the People) announced today that he raised by-election this year after assessing that the proposal to postpone the elections to April 2024, presented by the executive branch in December 2022, will not reach need votes for ratification in the legislature, which recently concluded on Friday, February 17.

With 93 votes in favor, 30 against and only one abstention plenary session Congress approved on December 20 last year the proposal of the government of Dina Boluarte. Being constitutional reformthe initiative had to be ratified in a second vote.

In the end of January, Guerra Garcia submitted a revised decision to postpone elections to December 2023; however, his initiative was rejected, and to date there is still no clear picture pointing to early elections.

IN news extension, He legislator Fujimorista He explained why he came up with this initiative, despite the fact that there was already a date that only required ratification.

Guerra Garcia He said that, according to a meeting he had with representatives of banks such as Peru Libre, Avanza País and Alianza para el Progreso (APP), he appreciated that the proposal Executive was to be rejected in the second vote due to discrepancies between the groups left And right.

“What we did was move the discussion forward because we were expecting this outcome. What we were heading for was a scenario in which there would be no referendum. We were going to stay with the door closed,” he explained.

“We were about to lose the rope and the goat; Now at least we have a rope. If we didn’t advance [la propuesta], we would have nothing, which many wanted. I have a list of press secretaries with whom I met, we made a calculation with them whether this vote can pass and [se determinó] This shouldn’t have happened,” he added.

“The date is useless”

Owner Constitutional Commission stated that the initial approval of the election date proposed by executive branchit was no guarantee that results would be achieved. 87 votes necessary.

“There was a date that needed to be ratified. A date is useless, it’s like a clothesline without a rod on the other side. […] If this other stick is not placed, the clothes will fall. What did this second stick depend on? To have more than 87 votes. They shouldn’t have been,” he said.

Hernando Guerra Garcia He also indicated that if the initiative is rejected in a second vote, “the entire project will be archived.” That is why he emphasized that while the draft early elections had been rejected more than twice in the previous legislature, in this new Legislature the problem and the opportunity for “trapped reforms” will be visible again.

“What was supposed to happen after that? The whole project was to be archived. Now we have the opportunity to have this legislature take up this project, because the intention of the benches is that this issue should not be considered,” he said.