PERU: Congress Meets To Decide On Kuczynski's Future

(RTTNews) - The Peruvian Congress, controlled by the opposition, called its 130 members to discuss and to vote a request to declare the vacancy of the President of the Republic, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, for permanent moral incapacity due to his link with the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

The president must present himself to the Congress to exercise his right to defense. Kuczynski and his lawyer will have at least two hours to express their arguments.

After completing his speech, the president and the lawyer will leave the floor, and a discussion will be held. That discussion is expected to last four and a half hours. Immediately after, the request for the presidential vacancy will be voted on; 87 votes in favor are required for the president to be ousted.

Last week, prosecutors investigating the ramifications of Operation Car Wash in Peru presented Odebrecht reports confirming the payment of US$ 4.8 million to two companies linked to Kuczinsky. One of these companies would have received the money while the politician worked for the government of former president Alejandro Toledo, between 2001 and 2006.