Brazil MPs in Rousseff impeachment vote

RIO DE JANEIRO. KAZINFORM - Brazil's lower house of Congress is voting on whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff over charges of manipulating government accounts for political gains - a claim she denies, BBC News reports.

photo: QAZINFORM

The "yes" camp is leading by a wide margin, as the vote reaches its final stage. To succeed, the motion needs a two-thirds majority - or 342 votes.
Ms Rousseff accuses her opponents of mounting a "coup".
Some 25,000 rival protesters are rallying outside Congress.
The lengthy session in the capital Brasilia has heard speeches from both sides.
With 400 of the 513 votes cast, 297 voted to impeach Ms Rousseff, 97 were against, four abstained and two were absent.
If the motion is approved by two-thirds it will be sent to the upper house, the Senate, which will consider the allegations of unlawful activity against her.
If the Senate finds Ms Rousseff guilty, she can be removed from office permanently. She has two opportunities to appeal during the whole process.
The result of the lower house vote may not be known for a while, as each MP is being given the opportunity to explain the decision they have made - as their vote is flashed up on screen.
Voting began after passionate statements from MPs and party leaders in a session that was disrupted as it got under way, and is being broadcast live on television as well as on large screens in city centres.
Defending Ms Rousseff, Afonso Florence, of her governing Workers' Party, urged MPs to have a "democratic conscience", and attacked her opponents who are facing their own charges of corruption.
Pro-impeachment MP, Antonio Imbassahy of the PSDB party, told lawmakers to "choose the country that we want from now on", and said Brazil needed "moral reconstruction."
Hundreds of thousands of protesters have gathered in cities across the country - Ms Rousseff's supporters wearing red and her opponents wearing the green and yellow of the Brazilian flag.
Some 25,000 protesters from both sides have gathered outside the Congress building in Brasilia - separated by a 2m (6.5ft) high wall, that stretches for 1km (0.6 miles).
Reports say the atmosphere has so far been peaceful; almost festive with music, fancy dress and people blowing trumpets and vuvuzuelas.
Brazil's three main newspapers predict a narrow vote in favour of impeaching Ms Rousseff.
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