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| Lula Calls for Thorough Probe into His Campaign Scandal |
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Brazilian television on Thursday that he wanted a thorough investigation into his alleged election campaign scandal. "I want to know who paid for it. I want to know what is in this dossier, and why it was worth so much money. I demand that the Federal Police go deep into the investigation," the president said. Lula's remarks came one day after Ricardo Berzoini, president of the ruling Labor Party, stepped down as Lula's election campaign manager amid a scandal over his alleged role in a smear campaign against an opposition politician. The scandal emerged over the weekend after police arrested an attorney who was allegedly hired by Lula's party to buy an incriminating dossier against Jose Serra of the opposition Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). Serra was favored to win the Sao Paulo state governor election running as candidate of the PSDB, the main opponent of Aloizio Mercadante, of Lula's Labor Party. "I am in an absolutely comfortable situation in the campaign. With ten days to go until the elections. I do not know why someone would want a dossier against the candidate for Sao Paulo state government," Lula told television. Brazil's top electoral court, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, has launched an investigation into the issue, while preparations for the Oct. 1 general election continue. If Lula was found guilty, he, together with his running partner Vice President Jose Alencar, would be barred from standing, the court said on its website. However, the investigation was unlikely to be closed before the election, which meant that if Lula was re-elected but later found guilty, he could still lose his presidency, the tribunal said, adding that the runner-up in the election would be declared president of Brazil. According to a previous opinion poll conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (Ibope), up to 50 percent of Brazilian voters intended to re-elect Lula for another term. He was followed by former Sao Paulo state governor Geraldo Alckmin, of the PSDB, with 29 percent. Ibope interviewed 2,002 people on Sept. 9-11 in 141 Brazilian towns. (Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006) |
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