Brazilian investigator says no evidence to prove bribes-for-votes scandal
A congressional probe into a bribery scandal said on Thursday that they could not find solid evidence of an alleged bribes-for-votes scheme that currently shakes the Brazilian government.
Lawmaker Ibrahim Abi-Ackel, head of the panel investigating the scandal, said some lawmakers have received "undue financial advantages," but it could not be defined as a bribe-for-votes scheme.
The scandal erupted in June, when the ruling Workers' Party was accused of having paid allied lawmakers bribes in exchange for their support on key votes in the Congress and engaging in illegal campaign financing practices.
But the government insisted that it did not bribe legislators but simply helped some lawmakers to pay campaign debts.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who came to power in 2002 and is expected to seek reelection next year, has seen his approval rating fall to its lowest level in September.
But he has ruled out resignation and vowed to fight corruption.
(Published People's Daily Online, November 18 2005)
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