Peruvian politicians remove president over alleged graft and Covid response

Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra waves to reporters during a press conference at the presidential palace in Lima after politicians voted him out of office (Martin Mejia/AP)

Peruvian politicians have voted to remove President Martin Vizcarra from office, accusing him of taking bribes years ago and poorly handling the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The president announced he would not try to fight the decision, while analysts called the action by legislators an overt and risky power grab in a country where Mr Vizcarra is highly popular but Congress is not.