| Coruscant_Journal | Date: Tuesday, 03 September 13, 12:30 PM | Message # 1 |
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Election "Soon," Chancellor Says
Metellos — Supreme Chancellor Pryce will call for an election "soon," he has announced. At a press conference this morning, the embattled Chancellor forcefully rejected calls for him to resign as a result of the so-called "Aargau Scandal," but acknowledged that the scandal had become a "distraction" and that an election was necessary "to put this behind us and get back to work."
The Chancellor is accused of supporting lucrative government contracts for the Trade Federation in exchange for thousands of credits deposited into a bank account under the control of the Chancellor's office. The "Chancellor's Fund"—an account with the Bank of Aargau, which is outside of Republic jurisdiction—was established by Chancellor Pryce "to directly invest in construction projects on Republic worlds to stimulate the economy."
Tens of thousands of credits from the Chancellor's Fund were "invested" in home improvements to Pryce's residence on his homeworld of Metellos.
The Coruscant Journal reported last month that the Senate Bureau of Intelligence ("SBI") was investigating Chancellor Pryce's fund, and that a former lobbyist for the Trade Federation told SBI investigators that Chancellor Pryce had proposed a government contract for the Federation in return for donations to the Chancellor's Fund. The Trade Federation is the largest private donor to the fund. The proposed contract—to deliver supplies to Republic military bases on the Outer Rim—would have been worth billions of credits, but was defeated in the Senate.
Both Chancellor Pryce and the Trade Federation deny any wrongdoing. Pryce described the accusations as "politically- and personally-motivated rumors," defending the home improvements on Metellos as "one of many direct investments in planetary economies." The Chancellor also denied any quid pro quo in his support for the Trade Federation contract, and denounced the SBI investigation. "I cut the SBI budget and now they're investigating me," Pryce told reporters. "It's a Dathomir witch hunt."
Since the scandal began, Chancellor Pryce, who was already unpopular with many Senators who consider him "rude," has endured almost daily threats of a no-confidence vote and growing calls for him to resign. The Senate—which has matched private donations to the Chancellor's Fund—was outraged last week when Pryce told them he wasn't able to recover the Senate's money from the Bank of Aargau "unless you give me emergency powers." Pryce claimed that the remark was a joke, but that "all jokes have some truth to them"; donations to the fund, he explained, had already been spent and could not be recovered.
Today's announcement of an election "soon" is seen as the Chancellor's attempt to head off a no-confidence vote. Pryce's fate as Chancellor will be "decided by the Senate once the SBI investigation is over." Not good enough, according to some Senators who accuse Pryce of stalling the investigation; "He's buying time. He has no intention of cooperating with the investigation. He called it a 'witch hunt,'" Senator Finbar of the planet Dac told The Coruscant Journal, "The Chancellor needs to set a date for this election, or else the Senate will use other options."
Asked today whether he will stand for re-election, Pryce said that "I will, and I will win." As the Senate begins to consider candidates to replace him, however, his re-election is seen as highly unlikely.
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