Sawt Falasteen - Peru to elect interim leader after graft scandal ousts president

Jeri, 39, was accused in the irregular hiring of several women in his government, and of suspected graft involving a Chinese businessman.

The new interim president will be Peru's eighth head of state in 10 years, after the Latin American country burned through a string of leaders who were impeached or investigated for wrongdoing.

Lawmakers will choose a new parliament speaker who will lead the country until July 28, when the next president elected in national polls takes office.

Jeri himself became president following the impeachment of his predecessor Dina Boluarte in October.

The vote, which is scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm (2300 GMT), will end a power vacuum of more than 24 hours, unprecedented in the country's recent history.

Four members of Congress have thrown their hat in the ring for the top job: former Congress president Maria del Carmen Alva, left-wing congressman Jose Balcazar, veteran socialist Edgar Raymundo, and Hector Acuna, whose party is tainted by corruption scandals.

Alva is one of the favorites to win the vote.

Jeri is constitutionally barred from running.

Peru's chronic political instability has seen four of its past seven presidents impeached, and two resigning before suffering the same fate. Only one completed his intended term, centrist academic Francisco Sagasti.

Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to impeach Jeri, who was serving as interim president after massive protests last year ousted Boluarte, Peru's first woman leader who served for only 22 months.

The new interim president will serve out the remainder of Jeri's term. A new leader will then take over following elections on April 12.

- 'True leader' -

Paula Jimenez, a 22-year-old saleswoman in the Peruvian capital Lima, said the political crisis was "secondary" compared to the everyday problems of ordinary people.

She accused parliament of focusing on internal squabbles rather than the concerns of Peruvians.

Peru has been gripped by a wave of extortion that has claimed dozens of lives, high levels of post-pandemic poverty and unemployment, and the domestic rise of gangs such as Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.

Edgardo Torres, a 29-year-old industrial engineer from Lima, said Peru needed "a true leader" to bring some much-needed political stability.

Prosecutors last week opened an investigation into whether Jeri "exercised undue influence" in government appointments.

Jeri has protested his innocence.

He found himself in the spotlight over claims revealed by investigative TV program Cuarto Poder that five women were improperly given jobs in the president's office and the environment ministry after meeting with Jeri.

Prosecutors said there were in fact nine women.

Jeri is also under investigation for alleged "illegal sponsorship of interests" following a secret meeting with a Chinese businessman with commercial ties with the government.

O.Salim--SF-PST