Paraguayan Senate proceeds with president's impeachment trial after rejecting delay request - 新华网

ASUNCION, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Paraguay's Senate on Friday proceeded with President Santiago Pena's impeachment trial after rejecting his request to postpone the proceedings over a banking scandal.

The Senate voted 39-3 against a proposed 72-hour delay, with two abstentions, local newspaper ABC Color reported.

Pena had sought additional time to prepare his defense, arguing that he received the impeachment charges only late Thursday night.

The Senate later ruled that Pena had failed to appear to present his defense and proceeded to review the evidence. His defense lawyers subsequently arrived at Congress.

The president faces impeachment proceedings following the collapse of Ueno Bank, which initially left around 3 million customers unable to access their accounts.

Pena submitted his resignation on Thursday amid mounting pressure over the banking crisis, but it had yet to be formally accepted as of Friday. ■