Brasilia - Arab Today
Brazil's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the government to stop an impeachment vote set for Sunday in the lower house of parliament against President Dilma Rousseff.
Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo had filed the application, emphasizing that it sought fair treatment of Rousseff, who has been under pressure to resign for months. She has been accused of hiding the extent of the budget deficit during her re-election campaign at the end of 2014.
But a majority of the Supreme Court justices voted early Friday against the government's emergency petition, arguing that Rousseff has had adequate opportunity to mount a defence, dpa reported.
If two-thirds of the lower house of parliament vote for the process to go forward, and that vote is followed by a simple majority in the Senate, Rousseff would be suspended for 180 days.
During the her suspension, the charges against her would be legally examined, and Vice President Michel Temer would serve as president.
In October, the Senate could vote to dismiss her by a two-thirds majority and, if that happens, Temer would remain president until the end of 2018.
Source: QNA