BRASILIA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A new chapter of Brazil's political crisis will be defined on Wednesday as the Chamber of Deputies will vote on whether to accept corruption charges against President Michel Temer.
For a trial to begin, a two-third majority, or 342 out of 513 deputies, must vote for the charges.
Temer and his government have been engaged in a full-court press to persuade enough deputies to vote their way.
On Wednesday, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Rodrigo Maia allowed a second session of debate on the vote, which was seen as a show of support for the opposition as an extended debate will allow the vote to take place in the evening, making it easier for the public to vote.
The opposition has hoped for an evening vote as they believe an audience of millions will put more pressure on any deputies voting to defend Temer.
An opinion poll in late July saw Temer with an approval rating of five percent, with the opposition gambling that deputies voting to support Temer will pay a heavy political price.
The voting will see deputies either accept or reject a report by the Chamber's Constitution and Justice (CCJ).
The vote was set to begin after the leaders of every party addressed the Chamber, to instruct their deputies to vote for or against Temer.
The case began in May, a year after Temer took over the presidency as his predecessor Dilma Rousseff stepped down for her impeachment trial to take place. She was finally removed from her office in August, 2016.
Temer was himself charged with passive corruption after confessions by executives of meat conglomerate, JBS, who admitted paying bribes to the president. They also provided an audio recording in which Temer could seemingly be heard signing off on bribes for public officials.
Temer's special advisor, Rodrigo Rocha Loures, was also caught on film receiving a suitcase containing 500,000 reais (160,000 U.S. dollars), which JBS said was intended for Temer.
If the Chamber votes against Temer, he will step down for 180 days while a trial takes place. In the meantime, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Maia will take over as interim president.
