Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will remain in office after the opposition failed to secure the number of votes needed in Congress to force him out of power, media reports said.

Lawmakers in Peru's unicameral 130-seat congress voted 78 to 19 in favor of Kuczynski's impeachment, but the votes fell short of the 87 required to oust him, the Financial Times reported. The Peruvian leader also survived thanks to 21 abstentions and 10 lawmakers who failed to show up to the Dec. 21 congressional session, Reuters said.

The right-wing populist party Popular Force had sought to oust Kuczynski on grounds that he was "morally unfit" to stay in power amid allegations that he received bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.