Brazil’s lower house has voted to start impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff over charges of manipulating government accounts. The opposition camp comfortably won the required two-thirds majority, after a lengthy session in the capital.
The motion will now be sent to the upper house, the Senate, which is expected to suspend Ms Rousseff while it carries out a formal trial. Ms. Dilma has denied the charges, and accused her opponents of mounting a coup.
Ms. Rousseff’s opponents secured 367 votes in the lower house – exceeding the 342-vote mark needed to send the motion to the Senate while the Rousseff’s camp secured 167 votes.
If the Senate votes for impeachment, Ms Rousseff will be put on trial in the upper chamber and will be removed from office permanently if found guilty. She has two opportunities to appeal during the whole process.
If she is impeached, Vice-President Michel Temer would take over as interim president but he is also facing impeachment proceedings over the same allegations as Ms Rousseff.
