Congress chooses Francisco Sagasti as new leaderPeruvian lawmaker Francisco Sagasti is set to be sworn in as interim President on Tuesday after being voted for by Congress in a bid to help calm anger on the streets amid deadly protests and the departure of two presidents over the last week. Mr. Sagasti, a legislator from the centrist Purple Party, will be sworn in at 4 p.m. to fulfil a government mandate until July next year, which would include holding a new presidential election scheduled for April 11. The Andean nation has been shaken since the abrupt ouster in an impeachment trial of popular leader Martin Vizcarra last Monday. His successor, Manuel Merino, resigned on Sunday after two young people died in protests against his government. Mr. Sagasti, 76, an engineer and former World Bank official, said on Monday night that he was considering names for Ministers in his government and did not rule out including members of the Cabinets of his predecessors.

Source: The Hindu November 17, 2020 16:51 UTC