Brazil Supreme Court rejects impeachment halt

A majority of Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday rejected a last-ditch attempt by President Dilma Rousseff to halt the impeachment process against her ahead of a key vote in Congress.

Justices refused a request for an injunction against proceedings that the government lawyer called “Kafkaesque” and said amounted to denying Mr Rousseff the opportunity to defend herself.

The ruling in an emergency Supreme Court session that began late Thursday and went well past midnight in the capital Brasilia cleared the way for Sunday’s vote by the Lower House of Congress, which is due to decide whether to send Ms Rousseff to impeachment trial.

Latest counts of voting intentions in the Lower House by major Brazilian newspapers show that the pro-impeachment camp will have the necessary two-thirds majority.

The Lower house of Congress opened debate on Friday on impeachment of the President ahead of a vote this weekend that could seal her fate.

If the vote passes on Sunday, the Senate will have the authority to open a trial against Ms Rousseff, who is accused of illegal government accounting tricks. If the Senate finds her guilty with another two-thirds vote, she would be forced from office.

House Speaker Eduardo Cunha — who despite facing serious corruption charges has positioned himself as the architect of the push to remove Ms Rousseff — predicted an intense debate.

“It’s calm but I don’t think it will continue that way until Sunday,” he told reporters. “It will go on till Sunday night and probably beyond for people who signed up (to speak). This is a historic process, there’s no doubt.”

Ms Rousseff says she will not go quietly. “The government will fight until the last minute of the second half... to foil this coup attempt,” she said on Thursday. Legislators who have yet to declare their position were facing fierce lobbying.