Sawt Falasteen - Argentina braces for graft verdict against VP Kirchner

Kirchner is accused of fraudulently awarding public works contracts in her stronghold in Patagonia as president between 2007 and 2015, and prosecutors have requested a 12-year prison sentence and lifetime ban from politics.

The 69-year-old leftist has been at the center of Argentine politics for two decades, drawing love and hatred in equal measure. She says the trial is a political witchhunt and the result a foregone conclusion.

"Obviously, there will be a conviction," she told the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo in an interview on Monday.

The verdict will be read during a hearing that starts at 9:30am local time (1530 GMT). Defendants will follow the outcome by videoconference, a court source told AFP.

"The verdict will have a strong political impact," said political analyst Rosendo Fraga of the University of Buenos Aires. However, if found guilty, "the chances of her being arrested for the sentence are non-existent."

Kirchner is charged alongside 12 others for alleged involvement in the illicit attribution of public works contracts in the southern Santa Cruz province in favor of businessman Lazaro Baez.

The period investigated includes Kirchner's eight years in office and the preceding four years when her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who died in 2010, was president.

The public prosecutor denounced what he called "a system of institutional corruption" and "probably the largest corruption operation" in the country, with "systematic irregularities in 51 calls for tenders" over twelve years.

However, to Kirchner, the charges are all a lie made up by her political enemies.

"This court has been a true firing squad," the veteran politician said during her final address to the court, accusing prosecutors of having "dedicated themselves to disrespecting and insulting me."

As vice president, Kirchner is head of the country's Senate and enjoys immunity as a lawmaker. Argentina holds general elections in 2023, and she can still run for any elective office.

However, her star has faded in recent years, and her future in politics is uncertain.

Even if Kirchner is convicted, years of potential appeals lie ahead in a process that Fraga said could take up to six years or more.

All eyes will be on potential protests if she is found guilty.

When prosecutors announced they were seeking a 12-year jail term in late August, mass daily demonstrations took place outside her Kirchner's apartment building in the upmarket suburb of Recoleta.

During one of these protests on September 1, a man shoved a revolver in her face and pulled the trigger -- but the gun did not fire.

Four people have been charged with involvement in the attack.

T.Samara--SF-PST