LIMA: Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski told lawmakers that the country's democracy was at stake ahead of a Congressional vote to remove him from office on Thursday, strenuously denying allegations of wrongdoing.
The rightwing populist party that controls Congress hopes to remove Kuczynski from office in a vote on Thursday, on the grounds that he is "morally unfit" to govern, after finding he once had business connections with a company at the center of Latin America's biggest graft scandal.
But center-right Kuczynski said the real goal was to usurp his presidency, and warned that ousting him would mark a step backwards toward the South American country's authoritarian past.
"What's at stake is not whether I remain in office, what's at stake is democratic stability," Kuczynski told lawmakers in opening remarks ahead of the vote, beside his lawyer. "Don't support this ouster that is baseless, because the people will not forgive you."
The opposition party, Popular Force, emerged from the rightwing populist movement started by former President Alberto Fujimori, who has formally asked Kuczynski to free him from prison by reducing his 25-year prison sentence for graft and human rights violations, a spokesman in the justice ministry said on Thursday.
It was unclear if Kuczynski was aware of Fujimori's request, which the justice ministry received on Friday but was made public as Kuczynski spoke in Congress.
The perception that Kuczynski might free Fujimori in exchange for votes of support could prompt more left-leaning lawmakers to back his removal from office, or encourage some of Fujimori's loyalists to oppose it.
Congress passed a motion to initiate "presidential vacancy" procedures last week, and controls enough votes to unseat Kuczynski.
On the eve of the vote, Kuczynski raised the stakes in Peru's biggest political crisis since the turn of the century by signaling his government would seek to trigger fresh general elections if he is forced out.
To prompt new elections, Kuczynski's two vice presidents would need to resign. Both stood beside him during a broadcast address to the nation on Wednesday.
Many of Kuczynski's supporters favor new elections to punish lawmakers if they oust him. But investors worry anti-establishment candidates would be swept into power if a fresh ballot was held.
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