The new Congress of Peru, elected for the period 2021-2026, took office this Friday at the gates of the inauguration of the new President of the country and in the midst of struggles for the integration of the board of directors of the legislative body.
Friday's was an unprecedented ceremony due to the protocols implemented by the COVID-19 pandemic, since the 130 elected congressmen, belonging to ten parties, are sworn in divided in three blocks.
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The ceremony took place in the hemicycle of the Legislative Palace under the direction of the Preparatory Board presided by Jaime Quito, of the Peru Libre party, that of president-elect Pedro Castillo, the top political force in the fragmented parliament.
In the first of the swearing-in blocks were Perú Libre (37 members), Juntos por el Perú (5) and the Purple Party (3); in the second were Fuerza Popular (24), Renovación Popular (13) and Avanza País (7), while in the third are sworn in the legislators of Acción Popular (16), Alianza para el Progreso (15), Somos Perú (5) and Podemos Perú (5).
After the swearing in, the negotiations of the different blocks will continue in order to form the list of candidates for the Executive Board for the period 2021-2022, which will be voted on next Monday.
"With the regulatory quorum, the swearing-in session and incorporation of congressmen elected for the period 2021 - 2026 begins. In order to comply with biosecurity measures, the ceremony will be held in three groups."
Two coalitions have been outlined, one with the ruling party and the other with the opposition groups. The first one includes Perú Libre, Juntos por el Perú, Somos Perú, Podemos Perú and the Partido Morado.
In the other confluence, of the opposition, Fuerza Popular (of the defeated candidate Keiko Fujimori), Alianza para el Progreso, Renovación Popular and Avanza País have banded together.
Next Wednesday the President elect, Pedro Castillo, will be sworn in before the new Congress, just after the bicentenary of the declaration of the country's independence.