Перу Конгресі: Өкіметтегі билық пен құқықтық өзгерістер

Legislative branch of the Peruvian government

The Congress of the Republic of Peru (lang es) is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the Constitution of Peru, the President of Peru can be removed by Congress without cause, effectively making the legislature more powerful than the executive branch. Following a ruling in February 2023 by the Constitutional Court of Peru, the body tasked with interpreting the Constitution of Peru and whose members are directly chosen by Congress, judicial oversight of the legislative body was also removed by the court, essentially giving Congress absolute control of Peru's government. Since the 2021 Peruvian general election, right wing parties held a majority in the legislature. The largest represented leftist party in Congress, Free Peru, has subsequently aligned itself with conservative and Fujimorists parties within Congress due to their institutional power. Congress' composition is established by Chapter I of Title IV of the Constitution of Peru. Congress is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts allocated to each region, as well as two special districts, Lima Province and Peruvian citizens living abroad, on a basis of population as measured by the Peruvian Census in multi member districts. The number of voting representatives is fixed by the Constitution at 130. Pursuant to the 2017 Census, the largest delegation is that of Lima Province, with 36 representatives. Congress is charged with the responsibility to pass laws and legislative resolutions, as well as to interpret, amend, or repeal existing laws. Congress also ratifies international treaties, approves the national budget, and authorizes loans on behalf of the country. It may also override presidential observations to bills by a vote of more than half the legal number of congressmen. It can also remove government official including the President, consent to the entry of foreign troops into the national territory, and authorize the President to leave the country. Congress meets at the Legislative Palace in Lima. The presiding officer is the President of Congress, who is elected by the members thereof (and is therefore traditionally the leader of the controlling party). The President and three vice presidents are chosen by the controlling governing coalition.

The first Peruvian Congress was installed in 1822 as the Constitutional Congress led by Francisco Xavier de Luna Pizarro. In 1829, the government installed a bicameral Congress, made up by a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. This system was interrupted by a number of times by Constitutional Congresses that promulgated new Constitutions that lasted for a couple of years. The Deputies reunited in the Legislative Palace and the Senators went to the former Peruvian Inquisition of Lima until 1930, when Augusto B. Leguía was overthrown by Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro. He installed a Constitutional Congress (1931–1933) that promulgated the Constitution of 1933. By order of the president, the Peruvian Aprista Party members that were in Congress were arrested for their revolutionary doctrines against the government. When Sánchez Cerro was assassinated in 1933 by an APRA member, General Óscar R. Benavides took power and closed Congress until 1939, when Manuel Prado Ugarteche was elected president. During various dictatorships, the Congress was interrupted by coups d'état. In 1968, Juan Velasco Alvarado overthrew president Fernando Belaúnde by a coup d'état, closing again the Congress. The 1979 Constitution was promulgated on 12 July 1979 by the Constitutional Assembly elected following 10 years of military rule and replaced the suspended 1933 Constitution. It became effective in 1980 with the re election of deposed President Fernando Belaúnde. It limited the president to a single five year term and established a bicameral legislature consisting of a 60 member Senate (upper house) and a 180 member Chamber of Deputies (lower house). Members of both chambers were elected for five year terms, running concurrently with that of the president. Party list proportional representation was used for both chambers: on a regional basis for the Senate, and using the D'Hondt method for the lower house. Members of both houses had to be Peruvian citizens, with a minimum age of 25 for deputies and 35 for senators. At the beginning of the 1990s, the bicameral congress had a low public approval rating. President Alberto Fujimori did not have the majority in both chambers, the opposition led the Congress, impeding the power that Fujimori had as president. He made the decision of dissolving Congress by a self coup to his government in 1992. Following the self coup, in which Congress was dissolved, the Democratic Constitutional Congress established a single chamber of 120 members. The Democratic Constitutional Congress promulgated the 1993 Constitution in which gave more power to the President. The new unicameral Congress started working in 1995, dominated by Fujimori's Congressmen that had the majority. The Congress permits a one year term for a Congressman or Congresswoman to become President of Congress. During the presidencies of Ollanta Humala, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Martín Vizcarra, the right wing Congress led by the daughter of the former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori, obstructed much of the actions performed by the presidents. According to Walter Albán, head of Transparency International Peru, the Congress of Peru has recently been infiltrated by criminal groups that obstruct reforms in order to maintain their status and parliamentary immunity. The 2016 2021 congressional term was dissolved by President Martín Vizcarra in September 2019, triggering the 2019–2020 Peruvian constitutional crisis. Vizcarra issued a decree that set snap elections for 26 January 2020. The representatives served out the remainder of the original legislative term, which expired in July 2021. On 26 July 2021, the new and current Congress was sworn in, with an alliance led by Popular Action member María del Carmen Alva successfully gaining control of Peru's Congress. On 7 December 2022, the president Pedro Castillo attempted self coup d'état by unconstitutionally dissolving Congress and the state apparatus as a whole. He was subsequently impeached and removed by congress.

Article 90 of the Peruvian Constitution sets three qualifications for congressmen: (1) they must be natural born citizens; (2) they must be at least 25 years old; (3) they must be an eligible voter. Candidates for president cannot simultaneously run for congress while vice presidential candidates can. Furthermore, Article 91 states that high ranking government officers and any member of the armed forces or national police can only become congressmen six months after leaving their post. La Comisión de Ética Parlamentaria, or Parliamentary Ethics Committee, is in charge of enforcing the code and punishing violators. Discipline consist of (a) private, written admonishments; (b) public admonishments through a Congressional resolution; (c) suspension from three to 120 days from their legislative functions. Congressman also receive a one time extra monthly salary before the beginning of their term, known as an installation expenses allowance.

The most important officer is the President of Congress who is fourth in line of presidential succession if both the President and both vice presidents are incapable of assuming the role. The President of Congress can only serve as interim president as he is required to call new elections if all three executive officers are not incapable of serving. The president serves along three vice presidents who are collectively known as Mesa Directiva del Congreso, known as the Bureau in English. The three vice presidents are not always from the same party as the president. The Bureau approves all administrative functions as well as all of Congress' internal financial policy and hiring needs. Any member of the Bureau may be censored by any member of Congress.

El Consejo Directivo, or Executive Council, consists of the four members of the Bureau as well as representatives from each political party in Congress which are known as Executive Spokespersons. Its composition is directly proportional to the number of seats each party holds in Congress. The council has administrative and legislative responsibilities. Similar to the United States House Committee on Rules, it sets the calendar for the Plenary Assembly and fixes floor time for debating calendar items.

Each political party in Congress chooses a Spokesperson who acts as the party leader and is a member of the Board of Spokespersons alongside the members of the Bureau. The Board of Spokespersons main role deals with committee assignments as well as the flow of bills from the committees to the Plenary Assembly.

La Oficialía Mayor, or Secretariat General, is the body of personnel led by the Secretary General. It is responsible for assisting all members of Congress with daily managerial tasks. The Secretary General is chosen and serves under the direction of the Bureau and Executive Council.

Standing Committees are in charge of the study and report of routine business of the calendar, especially in the legislative and oversight function. The President of Congress, in coordination with Parliamentary Groups or upon consultation with the Executive Council, proposes the number of Standing Committees. Each party is allocated seats on committees in proportion to its overall strength. Most committee work is performed by 24 standing committees. Congressman Omar Chehade presented a new bicameralism constitutional amendment in November 2020 which has so far not been approved by Congress.

Congress is one of the most disapproved entities in Peru, recently seeing its lowest approval since the early 2000s. Following the 2021 Peruvian general election, disapproval of Congress increased dramatically, from 61% in August 2021 to 91% in March 2023 according to IEP polls.