Peruvian lawmakers file impeachment motion against President Boluarte

ISTANBUL

Several congress members filed an impeachment motion against Peru’s President Dina Boluarte on Thursday, accusing her of allegedly violating the constitution by traveling abroad without vice presidents in place, according to reports.

The motion by a group of left-wing and independent congress members includes the signatures of 26 legislators, and accuses Boularte of violating Article 115 of the Constitution, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.

In June, a plenary session of Congress approved a law that allows Boularte to leave the country while remaining virtually in charge of the presidency, the report added.

The motion accuses Boluarte of “permanent moral incapacity” for violating Article 115 of the Peruvian Constitution, which states that when a president leaves the national territory, “the first vice president takes charge of the office,” or “failing that, the second vice president does so,” the news agency reported.

Boluarte does not have a vice president because she became president by constitutional succession following Congress ousted Pedro Castillo on Dec. 7, last year, after an attempted coup.

“Given the impossibility of leaving the country, the Executive Branch sent a bill to Congress, approved by the plenary session on June 8, to allow her to remain in charge of the presidential office remotely using digital technologies,” the EFE reported.

According to the news agency, the motion was dated Aug. 7, when Boluarte left the country for the first time to attend a summit in Brazil, after which she traveled to the US to attend the UN General Assembly.

Thursday’s motion came as Boluarte is in Germany and is expected to visit Italy and meet with Pope Francis on Saturday, EFE added.

She is the sixth president of Peru in five years, a country plagued by political instability.