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Peru's Congress will vote next week on whether to impeach President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski over alleged bribe-taking from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, it decided Thursday.
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The 79-year-old former Wall Street banker will be invited to make his case before the opposition-dominated Congress, assisted by a lawyer. The Congress agreed by 87 votes to 15 to hold an impeachment debate and vote next week, but has yet to decide on the date.
"I have nothing to hide and I am willing to declare with total transparency before the corresponding instances," Kuczynski said in a Tweet on Thursday.
The opposition needed 51 votes to unleash the impeachment process, but got 87 votes, which is the number required to have the president impeached in next week's vote.
The threat of Kuczynksi's dismissal has caused uncertainty in Peru the month before it hosts the Summit of the Americas, which brings together leaders from the Western Hemisphere, including U.S. President Donald Trump.
In December, Kuczynski survived an impeachment motion in Congress over the same Odebrecht-related matter. A week later he was questioned for four hours in his office by anti-corruption prosecutors over his links to Odebrecht. The former banker was accused of lying about his ties to the company.
He later admitted he had taken money from Odebrecht for what he and the company said were legitimate consulting fees.
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