Peru's new president will ask Congress to bring forward elections to 2024.
Boluarte was sworn in after Castillo was removed from office by Congress and arrested for attempting to dissolve the legislature in an effort to avoid an impeachment vote against him.
LIMA (Reuters) Peru's new president, Dina Boluarte, will present a bill to Congress to bring forward the general elections by two years, to April 2024, she said in the early hours of Monday, amid tensions in the Andean country following the ouster of former leader Pedro Castillo.
Boluarte was sworn in after Castillo was removed from office by Congress and arrested for attempting to dissolve the legislature in an effort to avoid an impeachment vote against him.
"I have decided to present a bill to reach an agreement with Congress to bring forward the general elections to April 2024," Boluarte said in a statement to the nation.
According to Boluarte, before holding early elections, his government will promote a reform of the political system in Congress that will allow for a "more efficient, transparent and participatory government, free from corruption and legitimized by citizen participation."
"The country is going through difficult times," he added.
Boluarte's statement that he will present the bill in the "coming days" comes after two teenagers died in Peru on Sunday during protests demanding that the country hold general elections following the ouster of Castillo.
Protests intensified on Monday with a blockade of a major road used by the Las Bambas copper mine, owned by China's MMG Ltd., by an Andean community in Cusco, a source close to the company told Reuters. Peru is the world's second-largest copper producer.
Castillo, a former teacher and farmer, garnered significant support in rural and mining areas, which led to his election in 2021. However, his government was mired in corruption allegations and faced up to three impeachment trials.
Several protests involving hundreds of people have been held since last week in some cities in the interior of the country and in Lima, seeking to prevent Boluarte, 60, from completing his term in the current government until July 2026.
To restore order, the president declared a "state of emergency" in the "high-conflict" areas, a measure that allows the army to take control of the protest regions if necessary.
The protesters, many of whom are supporters of the former president, are also demanding the closure of Congress and the release of Castillo, who has been in pre-trial detention since Wednesday after a failed attempt to shut down Parliament.
In Congress, the annulment of Castillo's immunity was approved in the early hours of Monday morning, allowing him to be investigated by the Public Prosecutor's Office, amid rejection from left-wing parliamentarians who were calling for the former president's release.
Castillo is being investigated by the prosecutor's office for the alleged crime of "insurrection and conspiracy."
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