People hold signs against President Dina Boluarte as they gather outside Ecuador's embassy in response to rumours that Boluarte may be seeking refuge there as Peru's Congress has voted in favor of moving forward with a proposal to impeach her, in Lima, Peru October 9, 2025. Reuters is not able to independently verify the rumours, and Peruvian lawmakers have voted to summon Boluarte to defend herself before Congress on Thursday. REUTERS/Gerardo Marin
Police stand guard outside Ecuador's embassy as people gather in response to rumours that President Dina Boluarte may be seeking refuge there as Peru's Congress has voted in favor of moving forward with a proposal to impeach her, in Lima, Peru October 9, 2025. Reuters is not able to independently verify the rumours, and Peruvian lawmakers have voted to summon Boluarte to defend herself before Congress on Thursday. REUTERS/Gerardo Marin
A man holds a sign reading "No to asylum" while standing outside Ecuador's embassy in response to rumours that President Dina Boluarte maybe seeking refuge there as Peru's Congress has voted in favor of moving forward with a proposal to impeach her, in Lima, Peru October 9, 2025. Reuters is not able to independently verify the rumours, and Peruvian lawmakers have voted to summon Boluarte to defend herself before Congress on Thursday. REUTERS/Gerardo Marin
Lawmakers gather on the day opposition lawmakers present a motion to remove Peru’s President Dina Boluarte, one of the world's most unpopular leaders, from office, in Lima, Peru October 9, 2025. REUTERS/Angela Ponce
Jose Jeri, President of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, addresses the lawmakers as opposition lawmakers present a motion to remove Peru’s President Dina Boluarte, one of the world's most unpopular leaders, from office, in Lima, Peru October 9, 2025. REUTERS/Angela Ponce
Lawmakers gather on the day opposition lawmakers present a motion to remove Peru’s President Dina Boluarte, one of the world's most unpopular leaders, from office, in Lima, Peru October 9, 2025. REUTERS/Angela Ponce
Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaks during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

By Marco Aquino and Sarah Morland

LIMA (Reuters) -Peru's Congress voted unanimously on Friday to remove President Dina Boluarte from office in a late-night session held hours after political blocs from across the spectrum called for her ouster.

A crowd of mostly young people gathered outside the Congress building, many waving the Peruvian flag, as the vote to remove Boluarte, one of the world's most unpopular leaders, was held.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum had an hour earlier voted to impeach her on grounds of "moral incapacity" and summoned her to defend herself before Congress that same night.

She never arrived, and lawmakers had sufficient votes to proceed with a rapid impeachment process.

Boluarte, 63, is deeply disliked, with approval ratings between 2% and 4%, following accusations she has illicitly profited from her office and is responsible for lethal crackdowns on protests in favor of her predecessor.

She denies any wrongdoing.

Boluarte does not have a vice president and it is not immediately clear who would succeed her.

Her removal continues a revolving door of leaders in the Andean nation, which has had six presidents since 2018. Three ex-leaders are currently behind bars.

A crowd also gathered outside the Ecuador embassy, many dancing and celebrating, as people anticipated that the president would seek asylum in the neighboring country.

Earlier Thursday night, votes on four motions presented to remove Boluarte gathered between 108 and 115 votes in favor - more than double the 52 votes that were required to advance with the debate. At least 87 votes are needed to impeach her.

Lawmakers then voted to summon the president to defend herself before Congress an hour later at 11.30 p.m. (0430 GMT), but she never appeared and shortly after midnight they voted to oust her.

The support for Boluarte's removal marks an about-turn after lawmakers rejected a series of prior motions for removal, none of which made it to the debate stage.

The latest push was marked by the participation of right-wing parties that have historically supported her, including Rafael Lopez's Popular Renewal and Keiko Fujimori's Popular Force. Both political heavyweights are expected to stand for president in the presidential election April 2026.

"We cannot leave for tomorrow what we can do today," congressman Victor Cutipa told fellow lawmakers. "We must make a decision now."

Boluarte came to power in December 2022 as her predecessor President Pedro Castillo, under whom she had herself served as vice president, was ousted and arrested after he attempted to dissolve Congress.

Castillo's removal was met with months of widespread, deadly protests particularly in rural Andean and Indigenous communities, and rights groups have accused Boluarte's government of using excessive force to repress the protests.

She also became embroiled in allegations of illicit enrichment involving undeclared assets and Rolex watches. In July, she decided to double her salary.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino, Sarah Morland and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Kylie Madry, Bill Berkrot, Christian Schmollinger and Raju Gopalakrishnan)