LIMA, Peru (AP) — A high Peruvian court rejected a request by President Martín Vizcarra Thursday to halt impeachment proceedings being pushed by opposition lawmakers who contend he tried to cover up ties with a controversial ally.
The Constitutional Tribunal shot down Vizcarra’s demand in a 5-2 vote but also agreed to advance his request for clarification on what is “moral incapacity,” the accusation detractors are using to try and thwart him from office.
Tribunal President Marianella Ledesma said magistrates agreed to let the impeachment proceeding advance because recent events indicate the removal attempt is unlikely to actually result in Vizcarra’s ouster.
“The Tribunal considers that there isn’t a risk,” she told Peru21 television.
Lawmakers who initiated the impeachment process last week have struggled to garner support and analysts believe they are unlikely to get enough votes to remove Vizcarra. The impeachment would come at a tumultuous time for Peru, one of the countries with the highest per capita COVID-19 mortality rates in the world.
Nonetheless, the impeachment hearing Friday in Congress will continue as planned.
The political crisis erupted last week when opposition legislators aired several covertly recorded audios that appear to show Vizcarra coordinating a defense strategy to answer questions about an obscure musician’s visits to see him.
The lawmakers contend the audios show that Vizcarra was trying to obstruct an investigation into nearly $50,000 in contracts given to singer Richard Cisneros.
Vizcarra has not been charged and vehemently denies the accusations.
Analysts warn that the country’s democracy could be weakened if the impeachment proceeds. The proceedings have been rushed and no probe has yet concluded whether any illegal activity indeed took place.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.