GUATEMALA’S Congress voted unanimously on Tuesday to strip President Otto Perez Molina of his official immunity from prosecution.

All 132 deputies of the 158-member congress present for the vote backed the motion which came in response to a deepening corruption scandal engulfing the presidency.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the congress building sang the national anthem in celebration as the result of the vote was announced.

Prosecutor Thelma Aldana announced that she would soon seek a warrant for the president’s arrest. Federal judge Miguel Angel Galvez has already granted her request for a court order stopping Mr Perez leaving the country.

She told a news conference “Guatemala is showing that nobody is above the law, and as a result this is a message for all current and future public servants that our behaviour must be subject to the constitution.”

Crucially, Mr Perez’s right-wing Patriotic Party (PP) colleagues voted against him, perhaps in fear of losing their seats in Sunday’s general elections.

“The party gave us permission to vote and withdraw the president’s immunity,” PP deputy Fernandez Chenal said. “He who owes nothing, fears nothing.”

Most of the deputies not present were from the Lider party, the largest in Congress. Party leader Manuel Baldizon hopes to win the weekend poll.

But anti-corruption independent Jimmy Morales, a TV personality, has surged in the polls in recent weeks to challenge Mr Baldizon.