Gear-. A parliamentary motion that sought to vacate (remove) President Pedro Castillo failed today, as the Peruvian parliament rejected it, by 73 votes out of 55 in favor of the measure.
The vote culminated in an exhausting session that lasted more than 12 hours, with speeches in which every member of Congress set his own position and moments of tension in the midst of the controversy were recorded.
The final council scored 55 votes in favor of the vacant seat and 73 votes against, a majority split into 54 against and 19 abstentions.
From the very beginning of the speeches, it was constantly heard about the certainty of opponents of the vacancy, that this measure does not guarantee a solution to the persistent crisis that is on its way to the age of six, and which it will not reach in any way. Two-thirds of the votes needed to approve it.
The speakers from the vacant side admitted the insufficiency of voices who, with their attack on Castillo, lamented in advance for the negative result.
After the result, the president broadcast a brief message in which he saluted “common sense, responsibility and democracy prevailed”.
“I appreciate the parliamentarians who voted against the vacancy, and I respect the decision of those who did. I invite everyone to close this page and work together to tackle the great challenges the country is facing.”
The President removed doubts about his attendance at the critical session, by appearing and giving a brief speech in which he dismissed the twenty arguments contained in the vacancy application by classifying them as statements without evidence or under investigation, quotes from the press, and ignoring the accusations. By Parliament itself in the first attempt to impeach him.
After his speech, he left the legislative palace and his attorney, Jose Felix Palomino, who refuted in detail the corruption and other charges on which the lawsuit was based.
Following the session, six ministers who participated in the session and did not interfere, welcomed the outcome as a victory for democracy and called for agreement and joint action between the executive and legislative branches to address the country’s problems.
The spokesperson for the ruling party’s electoral caucus, Peru Lieber, Valdemar Ceron, and the group’s lawmakers celebrated loudly the failure of the vacancy and also called for the agreement.
The main promoter of the new position – the first proposal failed in December – Jorge Montoya, said that the bloc of which he is a part will investigate the motives of the 19 who voted to abstain, and stressed that the votes for his office have increased, reflecting the perception that there will be a new attempt to remove Castillo.
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