Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo asked all his cabinet members, including Prime Minister Beatriz Merino, to resign to pave the way for his cabinet reshuffle, a presidential statement said late Friday.

The statement said Toledo had also demanded that all presidential advisors quit.

He said in his statement that the country's constitution accorded him the right to make such a request, and added that new cabinet members have been chosen but will only be sworn in on Monday when Merino, who is in the United States on a visit, returns home.

Analysts attributed Toledo's Friday announcement to some recent political events in the country.

First Vice President Raul Diez Canseco was forced to quit his post as minister of foreign trade and tourism in mid-November amid corruption charges.

Merino had reportedly presented her resignation to Toledo after complaining to him that former Prime Minister Jorge Fernandez Maldonado Solari accused her of being a lesbian.

(Xinhua News Agency Dec 13, 2003)