Feb 17 (Reuters) - Peru’s Congress on Tuesday began a debate in which they will discuss whether to remove President Jose Jeri after just four months in office, following a scandal over undisclosed meetings with a Chinese businessman.
If a simple majority approves Jeri’s removal, this would continue a revolving door of leaders in the South American nation, which despite years of political turbulence counts one of the region’s most stable economies.
If removed, Jeri’s successor would become the Andean nation’s eighth president in as many years, making Jeri the third consecutive president to be removed from office.
The motions being debated are to censure President Jose Jeri, a measure that would remove him from the presidency by stripping him of his title as President of Congress.
Unlike impeachment, which requires a supermajority of 87 votes in the 130-member legislature, censure requires a simple majority of 66 or less if fewer legislators are in attendance.
The president and his allies have argued that he should face an impeachment trial and not censure, but Jeri has said he would respect the outcome of the censure vote.
While the current President of Congress, Fernando Rospigliosi, would be next in the line of succession, he has said he won’t assume the presidency, meaning legislators would have to elect a new head of Congress who would then assume the presidency.
This would be similar to Francisco Sagasti’s ascent to the presidency in 2020 after he was chosen by Congress amid a sharp political crisis and protests following former President Manuel Merino’s five-day presidency.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Alexander Villegas)
