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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | March 2008 
Tensions, Complaints Mar Mexico Elections
 Associated Press
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| | Lopez Obrador alleges that electoral fraud caused him to lose the vote and his supporters refuse to have any dealings with Calderon's administration. | | |
Mexico City — Moderates and hard-liners exchanged accusations of voting irregularities on Sunday as Mexico's main leftist party chose new leadership.
The two front-runners for the Democratic Revolution Party's top job would likely take the party in sharply different directions. Former Sen. Jesus Ortega is a party moderate, while ex- Mexico City Mayor Alejandro Encinas advocates a radical opposition to President Felipe Calderon's government. Three other candidates are also on the ballot.
The leftist party, known as the PRD, has been fractured by severe infighting since its presidential candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, lost Mexico's 2006 presidential election by half a percentage point.
Lopez Obrador alleges that electoral fraud caused him to lose the vote and his supporters refuse to have any dealings with Calderon's administration. Encinas was a close adviser to Lopez Obrador.
The moderate wing of the party says that legislative work requires some contact with the executive branch. The moderates worry the PRD could once again be seen as uncooperative or violent.
On Sunday, an estimated 7 million members and supporters of the PRD cast ballots to chose a new party leader and other leadership positions. But the voting marred by allegations of vote-buying, intimidation and the use of improper ballots.
The government news agency Notimex reported that a scuffle broke out at one polling place in the capital, and that several others in outlying states were forced to shut down.
Calls to the party's office for comment were not returned. Most of 5,000 polling places nationwide appeared to be normally.
Results from the voting are not expected until later Monday.
Although Lopez Obrador lost the presidential election, the PRD is still a force to be reckoned with. It controls 127 seats in the 500-member Congress, making it the chamber's second-largest party. It ranks third in the Senate with 26 of 128 seats. |
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