Dina Boluarte (center), interim president of Peru, arrives for a photo during the swearing-in ceremony of cabinet members at the Government Palace in Peru on December 10, 2022. The Peru’s first woman president, oversaw the ceremony in which 19 ministers – eight of whom are women – took the oath of office at the presidential palace. Photo: VCG

New Peruvian President Dina Boluarte announced Sunday that she would seek to hold elections two years early, while also declaring a state of emergency in certain areas after protests following the arrest of her predecessor left two dead.

Demonstrators across the country, notably in northern and Andean towns, had been calling for fresh elections, along with a national strike and the release of leftist former president Pedro Castillo, who was removed from office on Wednesday for attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

"Interpreting the will of the citizens... I have decided to take the initiative to reach an agreement with the Congress of the Republic to advance general elections to the month of April of 2024," Boluarte said in a televised address, noting that a bill on moving the poll forward from 2026 would be submitted in the coming days.

She added that, "with the same patriotic sentiment," she was declaring a "state of emergency in areas of high social conflict in order to peacefully" restore order.

Boluarte, a former prosecutor who had served as Castillo's vice president, was quickly sworn in to replace him following his impeachment and subsequent arrest last week.

On Saturday, she introduced her new cabinet, a group with an independent and technocratic profile and including eight women.

She named former prosecutor Pedro Angulo as prime minister.

On Sunday demonstrators in cities across the country's interior, including Cajamarca, Arequipa, Huancayo, Cusco and Puno, demanded Castillo's release.

New clashes broke out between protesters and police in the southern city of Andahuaylas, leaving two dead and at least five injured, including a police officer, as demonstrators attempted to storm the city's airport, authorities said.

In her address, Boluarte expressed regret for the protesters' deaths.

Riot police were deployed to the airport to contain the thousands of demonstrators in Andahuaylas, which lies in Boluarte's home region of Apurimac.

Protesters fired slingshots and hurled stones, while police responded with tear gas, images from the scene broadcast by local TV showed. A police station in the Apurimac town of Huancabamba was set on fire, RPP radio reported.

"I urge people to remain calm," Interior Minister Cesar Cervantes told the station, as he announced the second death shortly after police confirmed the first, a teenager. Clashes in Andahuaylas on Saturday saw 16 civilians and four police officers injured.

"No Peruvian's life should be sacrificed for political interests," Boluarte tweeted on Sunday evening before her speech, reiterating a call for "dialogue and the rejection of violence."

AFP