Ecuador’s Constitutional Court voted 6-3 to authorize the South American country’s National Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Guillermo Lasso over allegations of corruption, a charge that arose from his opponents after he extended a state of emergency over protests.
The ruling clears the way for the Ecuadorean congress must take before the legislature’s elected members can vote on impeachment.
The vote signifies a second round of impeachment proceedings that follow a prior attempt over allegations arising from the Pandora Papers, in which Lasso’s opponents only secured 51 votes in favor with 77 voting against in December 2021.