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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | June 2005 
System Could Be In Place By 2006
 Wire services
| | Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez speaks before Congress on Wednesday, in Mexico City concerning absentee voting for Mexicans living abroad. |
A proposed mail-in voting system is technically sound and could be up and running in time for millions of Mexicans living abroad to participate in next year's presidential elections, federal officials told Congress on Wednesday.
Congress has convened a special session to, among other things, analyze the politically sensitive topic of allowing migrants overseas to vote _ an issue that will have to be resolved by July 1 in order to legally take effect for the July 2006 election.
Backed by President Vicente Fox, an initiative already approved by the Senate would allow Mexican migrants estimated at as many as 11 million in the United States to vote by mail if they are registered.
The plan must still be approved by the house, however, and addressing lawmakers there, Luis Carlos Ugalde, president of the Federal Electoral Institute, said officials consider it to be "technically and logistically viable for the elections in 2006."
The institute headed by Ugalde would be in charge of implementing the plan, and he said "trustworthy and capable infrastructure already exists," adding that the voting scheme would cost an estimated 1.36 billion pesos (US126.3 million).
Electoral officials would rely on the Mexican postal service to mail out ballots and receive them back from voters, despite decades-long complaints that the mail system in this country has been rendered largely useless by corruption and incompetence.
The Communications and Transportation Secretary would be tapped to oversee the post office's ballot distribution. Communications Secretary Pedro Cerisola said Wednesday his office would ensure balloting would go off without a hitch.
Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez told lawmakers that working out agreements with foreign businesses and mail carriers could also serve to strengthen the mail-in voting plan.
Legislators in the house are mulling the issue during what is normally a recess period. If they vote to make any changes to the measure which was already approved, the Senate would also have to be called into a special session.
Migrants are already guaranteed that right, but in practice have had to return to their country to cast a ballot.
Under the Senate plan, voters would have to solicit ballots by sending a letter with a copy of their voter registry card, their address abroad and signature to Electoral authorities between Oct. 1 and Jan. 15, 2006.
Also to be taken up in the special session are details of part of the 2006 budget that had been challenged in the Supreme Court, as well as bills to reform the criminal justice system and the tax structure of the state-run Pemex oil company. |
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