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Peru president considers December election

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte says elections may be held in December this year amid continuing protests in the country.

Peru Unrest Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Peru's capital Lima, facing police and tear gas.
January 28, 2023
By AAP
28 January 2023

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte says she is considering moving up general elections to December of this year as the Andean leader struggles to keep a hold on protests that have left dozens dead.

The change would need to be passed by Congress. 

Boluarte said elections could come even sooner than December depending on how quickly the proposal was passed.

Congress is set to debate on Friday a proposal presented earlier by Boluarte to move to April 2024 general elections which are currently set for 2026. 

However, some MPs have proposed moving the elections up to December or October of this year.

Peru’s Armed Forces said on Friday they would provide their “full support” to the National Police in removing protest-related road blocks.

The defence ministry on Thursday said the road blocks were “illegal” and called for protesters to stand down.

In Puno, in southern Peru, hundreds of soldiers and police were deployed to free up the roads.

The protests have caused more than $US1 billion ($A1.4 billion) in damage, the government said earlier this week.

Hundreds of protesters also took to the streets of capital Lima, facing riot police and tear gas.

Boluarte, Peru’s former vice president, has repeatedly called for Congress to move forward the elections since coming into office in December after her predecessor Pedro Castillo was ousted and detained for attempting to illegally dissolve Congress.

Boluarte has maintained that she will remain as president on an interim basis until elections are held.

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