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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2006 
Mexico Begins Marathon Review of Votes
 Ioan Grillo - Associated Press
| | Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party, (PRD), watches Claudia Scheinbaum, spokesperson for the campaign, pointing to a document purported to show irregularities in the election process, during a press conference in his headquarters office in Mexico City, Mexico, Wednesday, July 5 2006. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) |
Mexico began a marathon review of vote tallies Wednesday to determine whether conservative candidate Felipe Calderon really won the tight presidential race, while his leftist challenger insisted he was victorious and denounced what he called widespread irregularities.
A preliminary count showed Calderon, of President Vicente Fox's conservative National Action Party, ahead by just 1 percentage point. Charismatic leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is demanding a recount of every ballot, saying he plans to prove he defeated Calderon.
"The political stability of the country hangs in the balance," he said Wednesday.
Federal Electoral Institute President Luis Carlos Ugalde said late Tuesday that 2.6 million votes were not included in the preliminary count because of "inconsistencies," such as poor handwriting or extraneous marks on the tally sheets attached outside each ballot box. Lopez Obrador had initially said those 2.6 million were "missing."
If a review of the uncounted votes inside prove the numbers on these tally sheets are valid, Calderon would still lead, but by just 0.64 percent — about 250,000 of the 41 million votes cast, Ugalde said.
Wednesday's review is crucial to proving the balloting was clean to a nation that emerged six years ago from 71 years of one-party rule replete with election fraud. Some fear that failure to convince the public and candidates it was a fair vote could spark widespread civil unrest.
"Such a close race is a nightmare scenario," said Ted Lewis, an election observer for the San Francisco-based Global Exchange. "If the ruling party wins by a hair, a lot of people will jump to the conclusion that something is amiss."
Lopez Obrador's party has claimed some votes were recorded twice while others weren't tallied at all.
"The entire handling of the preliminary count was irregular," the candidate told Mexico's TV Azteca in a late-night interview Tuesday. "We have to tell it like it is. ... We are convinced that we won and we're going to prove it."
On Wednesday, Lopez Obrador aide Claudia Sheinbaum said the party found "very grave inconsistencies" in at least 50,000 polling places, including 18,646 in which votes cast outnumbered registered voters. Federal electoral officials had yet to respond to the claim.
"Make the review thorough so all will be satisfied, so we can end this process cleanly," Lopez Obrador said.
Ugalde said officials will open up ballot boxes to conduct individual counts only if there is evidence of specific irregularities.
He said a president-elect will be announced when the count is complete, a process that could take days.
Mexico became accustomed to widespread accusations of electoral shenanigans during seven decades of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
Fears of such fraud have sharply diminished since the electoral institute was founded in 1990s. The now-autonomous institute oversaw Fox's peaceful defeat of the PRI in 2000 and has been praised as a world-class electoral body that has advised emerging democracies, including Iraq and Haiti.
Many Mexicans have a hard time discarding conspiracy theories, though.
"It's very suspicious," said Miguel Angel Bobadilla, a 33-year-old orange juice seller in Mexico City who voted for Lopez Obrador. "It has been three days since the election and they still haven't declared a winner."
The silver-haired former mayor of Mexico City has inspired passionate support with his promises to lift millions of Mexicans out of poverty, and throughout his political career has successfully rallied supporters to participate in huge marches.
He has not called for any demonstrations since the election, although there were some scattered, peaceful protests supporting him on Tuesday.
"I voted because I believed in democracy in this country. But it's a fraud," said Angelica Lopez, 41, who was shouting slogans in favor of Lopez Obrador while blocking a road in Mexico City.
Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal said Tuesday that the Fox administration "does not endorse the victory of anyone, at all."
But political analyst Jose Antonio Crespo said there is still concern that some electoral officials are too close to Calderon. He said the electoral institute needs to be scrupulous in its review to prove Mexico's democratic credentials.
"I am worried," Crespo said. "All the players must tread very carefully or this situation could escalate out of control."
On the Net: Federal Electoral Institute: http://www.ife.org.mx (has English language site) |
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