| Impeachment of Wilson Witzel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Witzel wearing the gubernatorial sash | |
| Accused | Wilson Witzel, Governor of Rio de Janeiro[a] |
| Proponents |
|
| Date | 10 June 2020 – 30 April 2021 (10 months, 2 weeks and 6 days) |
| Outcome | Convicted by the Mixed Court, removed from office |
| Charges | Bidding fraud in the acquisition of respirators and construction of provisory hospitals |
| Cause | COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil |
| Votes | |
| Voting in the Legislative Assembly | |
| Accusation | Vote to open impeachment process |
| Votes in favor | 69 |
| Votes against | 0 |
| Not voting | 1 |
| Result | Approved |
| Accusation | Vote to proceed with impeachment process |
| Votes in favor | 69 |
| Votes against | 0 |
| Not voting | 1 |
| Result | Approved; sent to Mixed Court |
| Voting in the Mixed Court | |
| Accusation | Vote to begin trial |
| Votes in favor | 10 |
| Votes against | 0 |
| Result | Witzel suspended from office; Cláudio Castro becomes Acting Governor |
| Accusation | Vote to remove Witzel from office |
| Votes in favor | 10 "guilty" |
| Votes against | 0 "not guilty" |
| Result | Convicted; Cláudio Castro becomes Governor; Witzel has political rights suspended for 5 years |
The impeachment of Wilson Witzel, the 63rd Governor of Rio de Janeiro, occurred on 10 June 2020, when a petition for his impeachment was accepted by André Ceciliano, President of the Legislative Assembly after a symbolic voting in the virtual floor of the house.[2][3] State Deputies Lúcia Helena and Luiz Paulo Correa filed a petition accusing governor Witzel of the following crimes: acquisition of overpriced respirators; suspect bidding for the construction of temporary hospitals; linking with the arrested entrepreneur Mário Peixoto; rejection of the 2019 budget by the state Court of Accounts.[2] Once approved, the process moves to a special committee, where each one of the 29 parties in the Assembly choose representatives to make an impeachment committee. The report, authorizing the impeachment process, was approved by the special committee on 17 September.[4] If the state assembly passes the request (36 of the 70 deputies must approve), the governor is suspended from his duties (besides his suspension from 28 August-30 April, which was authorized by the Superior Court of Justice on 28 August)[1] and Witzel's trial began through a mixed court. On 30 April 2021, by a vote of 10-0, Witzel was convicted and removed from office, his political rights suspended for five years, with Cláudio Castro becoming the 64th governor of Rio de Janeiro.
- ^ a b Otoboni, Jéssica (28 August 2020). "STJ afasta Wilson Witzel do governo do RJ e manda prender Pastor Everaldo". CNN Brasil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ a b Barreira, Gabriel (10 June 2020). "Alerj abre processo de impeachment contra governador Wilson Witzel" (in Portuguese). G1. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Sabóia, Gabriel (10 June 2020). "Presidente da Alerj abre impeachment contra Witzel após votação simbólica" (in Portuguese). UOL. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Sabóia, Gabriel (17 September 2020). "Comissão de impeachment da Alerj aprova relatório contra Witzel". UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 September 2020.
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