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Panel strips Brazil Congress speaker of seat

Wednesday, 15 June 2016 7:35 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 June 2016 8:09 AM ]

Suspended Brazilian Speaker Eduardo Cunha gestures as he testifies before the Committee of Ethics of the Lower House in Brasilia on May 19, 2016. © AFP

A Brazilian congressional panel has voted to strip suspended House Speaker Eduardo Cunha of his seat, in another boost to President Dilma Rousseff who faces a possible impeachment.

The committee approved the motion 11-9 on Tuesday but a majority of the lower house of the Congress is still needed to affirm the committee’s decision.

Cunha has been accused of lying about holding Swiss bank accounts with his wife.

The couple faces trial in a bribery investigation focused on Petrobras oil company, with Cunha indicted for receiving $5 million in bribes to fix contracts for two drillships.

If the lower house votes to remove him from power, Cunha will also lose the partial immunity from prosecution, after which he could be arrested and prosecuted by courts.

Cunha has warned that he will take down many other politicians with him if he is arrested, in an apparent threat to interim President Michel Temer and members of his government.

Temer took the reins after the suspension of President Rousseff last month for her impeachment trial.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff speaks during a meeting with union leaders at Planalto Palace in Brasilia on December 15, 2015. ©AFP

On Tuesday, Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot called on the Supreme Court to authorize the arrest of several officials with the ruling Democratic Movement Party (PMDB).

The possible detentions could weaken Temer's new administration as all the men are from his governing party.

The impeachment bid against Rousseff was launched over allegations that she fiddled with government accounts in 2014 so she could increase public spending as a means of wooing voters for re-election. The Senate will vote on whether to impeach her in August.

Rousseff herself has condemned the impeachment drive as a coup, pledging to fight on during her trial.

She said on Tuesday that she is negotiating a political deal to escape impeachment and called for new elections to decide whether she can finish her term.

"If there have to be new elections, I will always be in favor of that. The only way to interrupt the mandate of a president is if the Brazilian people chooses to through a plebiscite,” Rousseff said.

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