Peru’s Congress voted on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, to censure and effectively remove interim President José Jeri after just over four months in power, marking yet another chapter in the country’s prolonged political instability.
The extraordinary session—convened during an official legislative recess—ended with 75 votes in favor of the censure motion, 24 against, and 3 abstentions. The vote surpasses the absolute majority required under Peru’s constitution to declare the president unfit for office and trigger automatic removal.
Jeri, who assumed the presidency in early October 2025 following the congressional ouster of Dina Boluarte, becomes the eighth head of state to lead Peru in the past decade—a period defined by repeated impeachments, resignations, protests, and institutional crises.
The censure motion was jointly driven by an unlikely alliance between a minority leftist opposition bloc and several right-wing congressional factions. Both sides accused Jeri of lacking the “functional suitability” to guide the country through the final stages of the transition ahead of national elections scheduled for April 2026.
The decisive push for removal was fueled by multiple corruption investigations launched by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Jeri currently faces two high-profile probes centered on alleged influence peddling and misuse of authority.
The most damaging scandal involved leaked security camera footage showing Jeri arriving late at night at a restaurant in Lima to meet Zhihua Yang, a Chinese businessman whose company had recently obtained government approval for a major hydroelectric project. The clandestine meeting—absent from the official presidential agenda—sparked widespread outrage, especially after images surfaced of Jeri wearing a hooded sweatshirt in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity.
A second investigation stemmed from a local media report revealing that five women with close ties to the president held private late-night meetings in his personal office. According to the exposé, all five subsequently received lucrative government contracts, raising serious questions about favoritism and improper influence.
Jeri has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, describing the investigations and the censure motion as part of a “destabilization plot” orchestrated by political adversaries seeking to undermine his administration.
His public approval ratings had already fallen sharply in recent weeks amid mounting scandals and economic pressures, making it difficult for him to rally sufficient congressional support to survive the vote.
Fernando Rospigliosi, the current president of Congress, announced immediately after the censure that lawmakers would reconvene on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, to elect Jeri’s successor. Under Peru’s constitution, Congress must choose a new interim president from among its members to serve until the winner of the April elections is inaugurated.
The rapid turnover underscores the fragility of Peru’s democratic institutions since 2016, when the country began experiencing a cascade of presidential crises. No elected president has completed a full five-year term in that period, with removals frequently triggered by congressional votes on vague grounds of “moral incapacity.”
The upcoming April 2026 general election—now just two months away—will be closely watched as Peru seeks to break the cycle of instability and restore political stability. Leading candidates from across the ideological spectrum are already positioning themselves, while analysts warn that continued congressional fragmentation could prolong the uncertainty.
Jeri’s ouster is the latest reminder of Peru’s volatile political landscape, where short-lived presidencies have become the norm amid deep polarization, corruption allegations, and economic challenges.
