Lower house speaker puts off election of impeachment committee
Brasília - Speaker Eduardo Cunha at a meeting with leaders in the governing coalition and the opposition
The election of a special committee in the Chamber of Deputies to deliberate on the accepted petition to impeach President Dilma Rousseff has been put off until the regular session of the house at 2 pm on Tuesday (Dec. 8). The decision was announced by Speaker Eduardo Cunha at a meeting with leaders in the governing coalition and the opposition. The committee election was supposed to take place at 6 pm Monday (7).
The special committee will be responsible for advising on whether or not there are grounds for the impeachment to go on trial. It will be composed of 65 deputies and the same number of alternates.
The deadline to submit the party nominations has been extended to allow for the submission of a competing slate proposed by the opposition to run for seats in the special committee.
At a news conference following the meeting with leaders, Cunha said that since this competing slate emerged, they would not be able to prepare the election in time to hold a vote Monday.
Party leaders upset by delay
Leaders from governing coalition and the opposition clashed during the meeting. Government allies criticized Eduardo Cunha for upholding the opposition's proposal to form an alternative slate, arguing this has delayed the member nominations, and as a result, the vote on the committee composition.
Deputy José Guimarães, the government leader in the house, and other leaders in the governing coalition left the meeting complaining. “We'll discuss our political and legal response. This is not acceptable,” he said.
Deputy Leonardo Picciani, leader of the PMDB, the same party as Cunha's, also left the meeting. “I think we've got off to a bad start,” he said.
The leader of DEM party, Deputy Mendonça Filho, contended that the government allies created this situation. “The government itself prompted the formation of a competing slate, by pulling the strings of the allied parties to get nominations that tilt the committee composition towards the government. This has sparked dissent and called for a contest in the house floor, which is perfectly fair and has happened in other votes.”
Deputy Rubens Bueno, leader of PPS party, said dissident deputies from the governing coalition turned to the opposition to volunteer their names for a new slate. “The government is using its leaders to impose a decision when it's up to each member of the house and, above all, to the floor to decide,” Bueno said.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Lower house speaker puts off election of impeachment committee
