MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Relief for Humala as second vice-president finally resigns over corruption claims

Chehade is now fighting to retain his Congressional seat

Peruvian Vice President Omar Chehade has resigned over corruption allegations but lawmakers expect him to try to hang onto his seat in Congress, where he could face an expulsion vote later this week.

The departure of Chehade, one of Peru's two vice presidents, a largely ceremonial post, would not hurt the stability of the government and could end one of the first scandals faced by President Ollanta Humala, who took office in July after campaigning on promises to fight corruption.

The scandal initially hurt Humala's popularity, but a Cabinet shuffle he carried out in December and a crackdown on anti-mining protests has lifted his approval rating 7 percentage points to 54%, according to a poll published on Sunday. Chehade's resignation would remove a weight that had dragged on Humala's approval rating.

“This was a personal decision by Chehade that President Humala has acknowledged,” Prime Minister Oscar Valdes told reporters when asked if Chehade had submitted a letter of resignation.

Opposition politicians said Chehade, who had resisted calls for months to step down as a vice president, was manoeuvring to retain his seat in Congress by having the ruling coalition parties, Gana Peru and Peru Posible, vote against a motion to expel him.

“This is a ploy so that there will be less public outrage when the majority of Gana Peru and Peru Posible vote to protect him in Congress” said lawmaker Mauricio Mulder of the opposition APRA party.

“Chehade's resignation seems positive to me,” said Fredy Otarola, the leader of the Gana Peru party in Congress. Chehade was expected to speak publicly at a session of the Permanent Commission of Congress, which could vote on his expulsion.

He says he is innocent of allegations that he asked a police general to help his brother evict workers from a cooperative sugar plantation to help a company that wants to take it over.

An overwhelming majority of the 130 lawmakers voted in December to suspend Chehade from Congress for 120 days and he had taken what he called “a leave” from his vice presidential post.

Humala, a former military officer, has shunned Chehade, going so far as to say, “We don't have any relationship with him”.

Humala cannot fire Chehade and his power to end the scandal has been limited by the constitution, which states that only Congress can remove a vice president from office in an impeachment proceeding.