Court rules abivalent ruling on conflict between powers in Peru

Lima, Aug 8 (RHC) The Constitutional Court said Monday that it declared null a parliamentary commission investigating the 2021 elections, but at the same time ruled that Congress can investigate the National Jury of Elections.

The court, the last instance in matters of constitutionality, issued the ruling in the context of a strong offensive by a sector of the Parliament that openly intends to replace the members of the court, an autonomous instance, before its five-year term.

The decision recognized that the commission created in 2021 resulted from a vote in which the proposal did not meet the number of votes required by law, and therefore declared all its acts null and void.

The invalidated commission did not actually find any evidence of alleged fraud in the 2021 general elections, which had already been certified by the National Jury of Elections and international election observer missions, among others.

However, the court ruling established that, despite the National Jury of Elections being autonomous in the exercise of its functions, the Parliament may investigate its actions that may affect the Constitution or legality.

The extreme right-wing benches together with center allies are accused by progressive and juridical sectors of abusing their power in order to place related elements to take over the management of State institutions, including those that designate their delegates as members of the National Jury of Elections, in order to change the current ones.

Critics point out that the objective would be to manage the electoral bodies in order to facilitate the election of a right-wing government in the upcoming elections (Source: Prensa Latina).