BRASÍLIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Michel Temer was hospitalised yesterday with urological problems in the midst of a rowdy congressional debate over whether he should be removed from office and face a corruption trial.

The surprise news, which first leaked out in the Brazilian media before being confirmed, added a note of drama to a day that had been widely seen as likely to go smoothly for Temer.

“President Temer felt discomfort in the late morning,” the official statement said. “The duty doctor diagnosed a urological obstruction and recommended that he be examined at the Military Hospital.”

Several hours later Temer, 77, remained in hospital, the statement said.

The first president in the country to face criminal charges while in office, Temer is accused of obstruction of justice and racketeering. He denies any wrongdoing.

The lower house of Congress would have to vote by a two-thirds majority for Temer to stand down for 180 days and the Supreme Court to open a trial. Anything less, and the case will be dropped as long as Temer remains in office.

The debate began with an anti-Temer protest in the chamber and then a walk-out by opposition members to prevent a quorum, meaning that while the debate could continue, no vote could take place.

However, Temer, a canny veteran of Brasilia’s notoriously corrupt political scene, has struck a confident tone, painting himself as needed at the helm of the country’s cautious recovery from a deep recession.

In August, allies in Congress threw out an earlier bribery criminal charge by a heavy margin. They seemed ready to do the same this time.

“The charges against the president have no basis, they are a lie, they are empty, they are fake,” said a congressional deputy, Bonifacio de Andrada, from the PSDB social democratic party, which is allied with Temer’s centre-right PMDB.

It was not yet clear what effect the hospitalisation episode would have on proceedings.

Ironically, what makes it easier for Temer is that many of those judging him in the lower house — 185 of the 513 deputies — are themselves targets of anti-corruption probes.