Ecuador's parliament has voted to dismiss the country's entire 31-member Supreme Court following massive protests against recent judicial reforms.
Lawmakers voted unanimously during a special session late Sunday to dismiss the judges and begin work on choosing their replacements.
The vote came four months after the ruling coalition pushed through reforms that included dismissing the previous high court when President Lucio Guteirrez accused it of being biased against him. That move sparked massive, peaceful protests in the capital, Quito.
In an effort to quell the protests, Mr. Guteirrez issued a brief state of emergency last Friday.
Thousands of Ecuadorians took to the streets in recent days, banging pots and pans and demanding the president's resignation, accusing him of acting like a dictator. Mr. Guteirrez rejects calls to step down.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.