Peruvian presidential candidates asked to swear that they will leave power at the end of their term in office

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Peruvian civil and religious organizations today asked the candidates for the presidency of the Republic in the second round of the presidential elections, Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori, to swear publicly that whoever wins will leave power at the end of their mandate, in 2026, and will not interfere in the investigations of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The “Citizens’ Proclamation: Oath for Democracy” is a document prepared by the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, the Union of Evangelical Churches of Peru, the National Coordinator of Human Rights, and the Civil Association Transparency to demand that the candidates comply with a series of urgent topics.

These organizations warn that “due to their trajectories, programs, and speeches, it is more urgent than ever to remain vigilant in the face of possible threats to democracy”.

They add that if any of the candidates refuses to sign or does not comply with the oath, “democratic civil society will be aware of the dangers and will know how to defend our democracy”.

For this reason, they demand that the leftist candidate Castillo and the right-wing candidate Fujimori, who is under indictment for money laundering, swear that they will put in place “the maximum efforts of the State to defeat the pandemic through effective strategies with scientific basis” for prevention, treatment, and universal vaccination.

Also, to respect the right to life and guarantee the human rights of minorities and the marginalized to ensure an inclusive, tolerant and pluralistic society.

NO TO REELECTION AND RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION.

Likewise, Castillo and Fujimori swear “to leave power after July 28, 2026, and not to seek or attempt any reelection mechanism”.

Regarding Castillo’s proposals to call for a referendum to make a constitutional reform, the proclamation asked them to swear that “any change and/or reform, included in the Constitution, will be made through the current constitutional mechanisms”.

Other demands refer to respecting and protecting the independence and privileges of the other branches of government and the autonomy of the Constitutional Court, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ombudsman’s Office, and the Central Reserve Bank.

With respect to the fight against corruption, it requires them not to interfere in the investigations of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the National Police, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Comptroller of the Republic.

Likewise, to give priority to the fight against citizen insecurity, terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime and respect international treaties and decisions of the Inter-American justice system.

RECOVERING HOPE AFTER THE CRISIS

Cardinal Pedro Barreto, bishop of the city of Huancayo, affirmed, after the presentation of the proclamation available for digital signature, that “we want the Peruvian society as a whole to live with hope and live with fraternity”.

The president of the Civil Association Transparency, Adriana Urrutia, said that “this is a moment to rescue the lessons that the pandemic has left us and learn from the inequality in the access to rights”.

In turn, the president of the Union of Evangelical Christian Churches of Peru, Cristian Scheelje, said that “in the coming weeks, not only the future of the next five democratic years will be decided. We believe that what we are talking about today is the future of our country”.

In this sense, he specified that it is the moment to think about “what kind of society we want to build within a civic, responsible, participative and observant citizenship”.