Resignation prompts PJ debate on replacement Wednesday, August 10, 2016 Echegaray brings end to conflict-ridden AGN tenureRicardo Echegaray’s short-lived tenure as Auditor General drew to a close yesterday, as formally submitted his resignation, paving the way for the Justicialist Party (PJ) to name a replacement. As the largest opposition party in Congress, the PJ has the right to name the leader of the AGN, which audits government programmes and expenditures. That nod sparked division not only within the Peronist party but also within the ruling Let’s Change (Cambiemos) government, after some expressed concern about the corruption charges hanging over Echegaray’s head. Echegaray had already been suspended from the Auditor General’s Office (AGN) by a judge in light of a corruption indictment, but he had vowed at first to fight the suspension and stay on and he initially had support from the PJ in that endeavour. Members of the PJ leadership were reportedly holed up in a central Buenos Aires hotel last night to settle on a candidate to replace the former AFIP chief, with some suggesting that former lawmaker and former AGN auditor Oscar Lamberto would be given the nod.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald August 10, 2016 05:48 UTC