Brazilian Ex-President Rousseff Calls for Direct Election As Graft Scandal Grows

Brazil’s former leader Dilma Rousseff said Friday an automatic appointment of the next president would prolong the political crisis and called for a direct election amid a graft investigation into her successor.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — The Supreme Court has approved a probe into allegations that sitting President Michel Temer had authorized bribes to hush up a witness in a corruption scandal surrounding the state oil firm Petrobras.

"The only way out of the crisis now is a direct election," Brazil’s former leader Dilma Rousseff wrote on her website. "No indirect election can save the country from the abyss it is falling into."

Accusations were levelled at Temer after Brazil’s O Globo newspaper published a report claiming it had an audio record that proved the center-right president had discussed paying money to jailed lawmaker Eduardo Cunha. Temer denied any wrongdoing.

Michel Tember took over from Rousseff after she was impeached in 2016 for allegedly misusing state funds. If he leaves, the top job will go to the lower house speaker until the scheduled election in October 2018.