Brazilian Senators still divided on whether to impeach President

Senators still divide on whether to impeach Brazilian suspended president Dilma Rousseff, as the final vote on Wednesday is approaching.

The impeachment trial of Rousseff entered the final stretch on Tuesday morning, with the defense and prosecution set to present their closing arguments. The legislators will vote on whether or not to impeach Rousseff on Wednesday to avoid extending Tuesday’s session through the night, said the head of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Ricardo Lewandowski.

Many senators made clear their positions during Tuesday’s session, but whether a two-thirds majority, 54 out of 81 senators, will vote to remove Rousseff from office still depends on the undecided voters.

Rousseff supporters said they will try their best to defend Rousseff.

“We will keep fighting until the last minute. Though the final vote will be held on Wednesday, we still keep communicating with the senators through delivering speeches during the session,” said s senator from Rousseff’s Workers’ Party.

However, two rounds of senate vote showed that a majority of senators approved the impeachment against Rousseff, which boosts confidence of the senators in favor of the impeachment.

“There were 59 senators voting yes for the impeachment, and I believe there will be 61 voting yes in the final vote on Aug. 31, that is to say, more will vote yes in the final vote,” said s senator in favor of the impeachment.

Rousseff was temporarily suspended for up to 180 days on May 12 and her Vice President Michel Temer took over the presidency on an interim basis.

Should Rousseff be impeached, Temer would complete his mandate until the end of 2018 and she would be ineligible to stand for public office for eight years.