Peru: Congress approves reinstatement of magistrates

The Peruvian Congress has overwhelmingly approved the reinstatement of three magistrates dismissed from the Constitutional Court in 1997.

The judges Guillermo Rey Terry, Manuel Agurrie Roca and Delia Revoredo de Mur were removed from their posts after ruling that a law, which would have allowed President Fujimori to stand for a second re-election, was not applicable.

The majority of the ruling alliance Peru 2000 walked out of the session late on Thursday in protest, leaving the seventy-one remaining members of congress to vote on fully reinstating the magistrates. Earlier in the day, members of the congress elected an opposition politician --- Valentin Paniagua -- as the new president of Congress.

He is the first opposition figure to head congress since Mr Fujimori took control of the parliament and the courts eight years ago.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service