Peru president urges Congress to bring elections forward amid deadly protests

FILE PHOTO: Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaks during a ceremony to commemorate the Day of the Peruvian Army and the anniversary of the Battle of Ayacucho, in Lima, Peru December 9, 2022. Peru's Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

LIMA (Reuters) -Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, who has said she is leading a transitional government, urged the country's Congress to pass a proposal to bring forward general elections in a news conference from the presidential palace on Saturday.

Boluarte, formerly Peru's vice president, assumed the presidency earlier this month after leftist then-President Pedro Castillo tried to illegally dissolve Congress and was arrested.