President Sebastián Piñera has been impeached by the lower house of Chile’s congress, setting up a trial in the nation’s Senate over whether to remove him due to allegations he favored the sale of a family property while in office.
The vote to accept the charges got the bare minimum of 78 votes needed in the 155-member Chamber of Deputies and followed a 20-hour session. Sixty-seven legislators voted against the “constitutional accusation,” including several members of the opposition while others abstained or were absent.
As in the U.S. and many other nations, a Senate trial follows impeachment and Piñera is unlikely to be removed by the 43-member upper house, where the opposition has only 24 of the 29 votes needed to oust a president.
The Senate deliberations on his fate will occur in the heat of an election campaign to replace him in any case.
The first round of general elections is set for Nov. 21 and Piñera’s term ends on March 11. Chile does not permit presidential reelection to consecutive terms.
The accusation stems from publication of the so-called Pandora Papers, which revealed offshore financial dealings of prominent figures around the world, including Piñera, one of Chile’s wealthiest people.
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