Brazil Senate puts President Rousseff on trial with 55-22 vote
In a 55-22 vote in the early Thursday morning (May 12), Brazil's Senate confirmed a recommendation to try President Dilma Rousseff on impeachment charges. This decision will suspend Rousseff for up to 180 days, and President Michel Temer takes over the reins until a verdict is reached.
The voting session lasted over 20 hours. Out of the 81 senators, 69 made speeches. Senators cast their votes on the electronic voting system with 78 senators attending. There were no abstentions.
The impeachment proceedings will now be sent back to the Senate Special Committee on Impeachment for evidence gathering and witness hearing on both sides to establish whether Rousseff has committed an impeachable offense with the accounting maneuvers used by her government.
Based on the findings and the defense, a new report with a motion on impeachment will be drafted within 10 days, and voted on by the committee—regardless of the committee outcome, it will subsequently be submitted for approval on the floor. If an impeachment motion is voted down, the case is closed, and President Rousseff is reinstated. Otherwise, a final judgment will take place.
Senators Raimundo Lira and Antonio Anastasia will retain their roles of respectively chairing the committee activities and writing up a report with a recommendation on Roussseff's impeachment.
The duration of the evidentiary stage is open, but the committee members want to resume the proceedings soon. Senator Lira expects to have established a timeline and guidelines for this stage by Friday (13). Document gathering and approval of witness hearing orders should begin next week.
The Chief Supreme Court Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, will now preside over the impeachment case. “The Chief Justice will be the court of last resort. Any points of order that I reject may be appealed to him, as he now presides over the impeachment trial,” said Senator Raimundo Lira.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Brazil Senate puts President Rousseff on trial with 55-22 vote
