A member of the Argentine National Congress says leaders of its lower chamber miscounted a vote on a measure to raise tobacco taxes in the country, certifiying it as having passed, when it actually didn't.
Deputy Aldo Leiva said he and fellow deputy María Luisa Chomiak abstained from voting on the tobacco tax measure, but that they were marked as having voted for it by administrative staff in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, which has 257 members.
The measure raised taxes on local, discount Argentine cigarette makers, but not on international ones, like Philip Morris and British American Tobacco.
Leiva called on chamber president Martin Menem to review the vote and hold another, if necessary.
"(Menem) agrees because it is a matter that is common. In fact, there are deputies who vote wrongly and then clarify the meaning of their vote. Before that instance we decided to state that we abstained; in fact the president clearly says abstention, that can be seen in the videos," Leiva told La Politica Online.
Leiva said many of his fellow deputies backing the tobacco tax increase were under heavy pressure to make sure the measure passed.
"I was powerfully struck by the degree of nervousness that there was in some deputies, fundamentally linked to (tax increase), because they had lost the vote. It was a situation that was not experienced in any of the other votes," said Leiva. "There is a lot of talk about lobbies by companies linked to cigarettes and it would be dishonest not to say that at the bottom there is a lot of rumors that there are deputies who operate for certain groups."
Leiva and Chomiak are from Chaco province in the northern region of the country. Menem is the nephew of former Argentina President Carlos Menem.
Another legislator, Daiana Fernandez Molero of Buenos Aires, was recorded on video voting against the tobacco tax increase. But her vote was recorded as "absent."
Fernandez Molero was one of ten legislators whose votes were recorded as "absent" when they claimed to have voted against.
The final recorded vote tally was 82-77 in favor of the tax increase with 69 abstentions.
Last month, the CEO of Argentina-based cigarette maker Tabacalera Sarandi filed a filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commssion (SEC) against Philip Morris, accusing the company of bribing members of that country's National Congress in order "to maintain a market monopoly and manipulate product pricing structures to the detriment of both public health and fair market competition."
Pablo Otero accused Philip Morris of "activities include regular payments and contributions to members of the national congress... direct influence over public officials in crafting legislation that disproportionately benefits the company."
Tabacalera Sarandi sells lower cost cigarettes in Argentina, including popular brands Kiel, West Red and Red Point that compete with Philip Morris brands Marlboro and Chesterfield in the country.