Guillermo Lasso: Ecuador's President dissolves parliament

Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso has dissolved the opposition-controlled parliament amid an impeachment trial.

He had been accused of turning a blind eye to embezzlement and was facing an imminent vote that could have ousted him from office.

Mr Lasso, a conservative, said the charges were politically motivated.

He will now have up to six months to govern by decree - without the input from lawmakers - before fresh general elections are held.

The conservative president issued the decree which disbands the National Assembly "due to a grave political crisis and national commotion".

He also instructed the electoral authorities to organise early elections.

The move comes just hours after Mr Lasso offered an impassioned defence during the first day of his impeachment trial, in which he stood accused of having been aware of an embezzlement scheme involving a state-run oil transport company.

He told members of the National Assembly that his accusers, which hail from opposition parties, lacked evidence.

The president also said that the alleged embezzlement had occurred before he came into office.

The trial was expected to continue on Wednesday and a final impeachment vote was due within five days.

A two-thirds majority - 92 lawmakers out of a total of 137 - would have been needed to unseat the president.

Analysts said that the fact that 88 lawmakers had previously voted in favour of the impeachment trial going ahead, meant that the president was at considerable risk of being ousted.

But before the trial could resume, Mr Lasso invoked the constitutional clause known as "muerte cruzada" (mutual death).

The clause was introduced in 2008 and has never been used in Ecuador before.

It is seen as an extreme measure and opposition groups, including Conaie, Ecuador's influential confederation of indigenous groups, had warned that they stage mass protests if it was invoked.

President Lasso accused the National Assembly of obstructing reform. He said it was impossible to "solve the problems of Ecuadorean families... when there is a National Assembly whose political mission it is to destabilise democracy".