The special committee of the Chamber of Deputies that was charged with looking into the impasse at the government’s auditing office, known as the Chamber of Accounts, has voted 9 against and 11 in favor to ask the entire Chamber of Deputies to initiate an impeachment process for the members of the Chamber of Accounts.
Gustavo Sanchez, an opposition PLD legislator, said the majority vote came from the ruling PRM legislators.
The plenary of the Chamber of Deputies still needs to decide on the recommendation.
The committee recommendation is pending the issuing of a final report. It comes after 45 days of investigation into allegations of serious misconduct, both individual and collective, on the part of the government’s main government-to-government auditing office.
Rogelio Genao Lanza, who had chaired the selection of the five members and now the committee, understands there were sufficient serious incidents that merit an impeachment process by Congress.
For the action to proceed, the committee’s report needs to get on the agenda of the chamber. Then the Chamber of Deputies needs to vote on whether or not to send the case to the Senate for the impeachment hearings as required by Article 83 of the Constitution. This will require a special majority of two-thirds or 127 deputies.
The next step for this to happen is for Chamber of Deputies president Alfredo Pacheco, (National District, PRM) to put the matter on agenda. And if this happens and if the Chamber of Deputies votes to send the case to the Senate for trial, the five members of the Chamber of Accounts involved would be automatically suspended from their positions, leaving up in the air the important process of controlling government. Meanwhile, auditing processes are at a stand while the members of the Chamber of Accounts await the decisions.
Alternatives had been proposed to this extreme position now recommended by the internal committee. Among these was breaking the impasse within the Chamber of Accounts by appointing a counsellor trio.
The incumbent president of the Chamber of Accounts Janel Ramirez and member Mario Fernandez demand the opening to the public of the audios of the plenary work sessions to be able to establish individual responsibilities. He calls for full transparency. He awaits the final report to know the findings on which the committee bases its recommendation for removing all the members. Ramirez says individual responsibilities in the case need to be established.
The bad news is that if the present chamber of accounts is impeded to do its job, the audits that are so important to fighting corruption will again be on hold. This is good news for those that do not want these to advance, including persons in this government and past governments.
Liz Sanchez, coordinator for Participación Ciudadana, the local chapter of Transparency International, told Diario Libre that the transition period would affect the dozens of audits carried out by this entity and the process of prosecuting officials for corruption carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. “It would seem that indeed in the Chamber of Accounts there are people related and linked with interests of cases that are being investigated, and this political trial to the Chamber of Accounts can really affect this whole process of investigation,” she said.
Furthermore, in an electoral year, it is difficult that Congress will approve new members for the Chamber of Accounts. Meanwhile, legislators are studying a new bill to change the rules and roles of the members of the Chamber of Accounts.
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Diario Libre
El Caribe
Listin Diario
El Caribe
El Caribe
El Dia
26 June 2023