Peru Congress moves up general elections to April 2024

Peru's Congress has voted to move up general elections from 2026 to April 2024 in a bid to ease political tensions and head off deadly protests sparked by the ouster and arrest of Pedro Castillo.

Lawmakers voted 93-30 on Tuesday with one abstention to approve the change in the electoral calendar.

The measure also stipulated that current President Dina Boluarte hand power to the winner of those elections in July 2024.

The leader of the legislature, Jose Williams, said for the measure to take effect, it would need to be ratified in another vote in the coming months.

Castillo was removed from office and detained earlier this month after seeking to dissolve Congress to rule by decree -- a move criticised by leftist Latin American allies, including Mexico, and which brought thousands of his supporters into the streets.

A subsequent security clampdown, including the deployment of armed soldiers during a state of emergency declared under Boluarte, followed, but officials say at least 21 people have died in the unrest. More than 650 others have been injured.

Demonstrations rattled the country, with roadblocks and airport disruptions, and thousands of tourists were left stranded, including at the famed Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

Polls show that 83 percent of citizens are in favour of bringing elections forward to resolve the crisis roiling the South American nation.

On Tuesday, a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights arrived in Lima to meet with authorities as part of a fact-finding mission on the volatile political situation.

READ MORE: Peru Congress to reconsider early election amid protests

'Unacceptable interference'

On Tuesday, Boluarte's government expelled Mexico's ambassador, giving him 72 hours to leave the country, in protest of what it said was Lopez Obrador's repeated and “unacceptable interference” in Peru's internal affairs.

“The statements by the Mexican president are especially grave considering the violence in our country, which is incompatible with the legitimate right of every individual to protest peacefully,” Peru's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Peruvian statement was issued hours after Obrador's government said it was granting asylum to Castillo's family, who took refuge at Mexico's embassy in Lima and is awaiting safe passage out of the country.

Castillo, a 53-year-old former rural school teacher and union leader, unexpectedly took power from Peru's traditional political elite in elections last year.

He immediately came under fire, surviving two early impeachment bids, and soon also found himself in the cross-hairs of prosecutors looking into numerous graft claims.

He is the subject of six separate criminal investigations.

Castillo's short term was plagued by instability, with three prime ministers and seven interior ministers coming and going in just over a year.

He has been ordered held in pre-trial detention for 18 months.

Castillo's wife, Lilia Paredes, is also under investigation for alleged involvement in a criminal organisation.

READ MORE: Peru crisis exposes social divisions and lack of trust in political class