LIMA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Up to 79 percent of Peruvians support the country's president Martin Vizcarra despite Congress's attempts to remove him, according to an Ipsos poll released by local press on Tuesday.
According to the survey, 19 percent of the respondents believed Vizcarra should be dismissed and replaced by the current president of the Congress Manuel Merino.
The poll was carried out on Sept. 11-12, shortly after the legislature announced the opening of impeachment proceedings against Vizcarra following the revelation of recordings that allegedly demonstrate the president misusing government funds were discovered.
The case originated in May when journalists uncovered alleged contracts between the Ministry of Culture and singer Richard Cisneros, who was reportedly close to Vizcarra during the 2016 presidential campaign, when Vizcarra ran for vice president alongside former president Pedro Kuczynski.
However, Vizcarra said he will not resign and is backed by the majority of governors and mayors in the country along with strong support from the citizens.
According to the Ipsos survey, 41 percent believed that the president's actions were "incorrect, but not serious" and he should undergo an investigation when his term ends in July of next year while 19 percent believed Vizcarra had no wrongdoing and the case was an opposition-led conspiracy.
Approval rating for the Peruvian president fell from 60 to 57 percent between August and September due to his government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ipsos survey. Enditem
