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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2006 
Court Orders Partial Recount in Presidential Vote
 Catherine Bremer - Reuters
| | Supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, presidential candidate for the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), protest outside Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal (TRIFE) building in Mexico City August 5, 2006, during a first public session. The Federal Electoral Tribunal's seven judges will give this divided nation its first glimpse of how they plan to deal with leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's allegations of widespread fraud and dirty campaign practices. (Reuters/Daniel Aguilar) |
Mexico's top electoral court ordered only a partial recount on Saturday in a presidential election fiercely contested by a leftist candidate who has threatened mass protests unless all votes are counted again.
The seven judges of the electoral court ordered votes recounted at just 11,839 of the almost 130,500 voting stations across the country.
Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has demanded a recount of all the more than 41 million votes cast, claiming fraud in the July 2 election result that gave a razor thin victory to conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.
He says the vote was rigged and that he would not accept a partial recount, raising fears of prolonged public unrest.
"Not just a small part of the vote returns, we want all the polls re-opened," Lopez Obrador told thousands of supporters on Friday night in the capital's vast Zocalo square.
Screaming "Traitors!," dozens of leftist protesters blocked the entrance of the electoral court after its judges announced their decision on Saturday.
"If there is no solution, there'll be revolution," they shouted.
Thousands of leftists have occupied the Zocalo and the main boulevard running through Mexico City's business district for almost a week, causing traffic chaos across swathes of the capital.
Calderon won the July 2 vote by less than 1 percentage point, and insists his victory was clean.
Most international observers said the election was fair and a majority of Mexicans agree, but about 35 percent believe the vote was rigged and about half favor a full recount, opinion polls show.
The dispute has split Mexico and poses a major challenge to its young democracy just six years after election of President Vicente Fox broke 71 years of authoritarian and corrupt single-party rule.
Lopez Obrador, a fiery former mayor of Mexico City, claims the vote was rigged and that there were irregularities at more than half the polling stations.
If the partial recount shows the leftist with more votes than in the original result, it will increase pressure on the electoral court to open more ballot boxes. If the results are unchanged, however, Lopez Obrador would come under more pressure to halt his campaign of civil disobedience.
The electoral court's judges - six men and one woman - have a reputation for expertise and independence among legal experts. They must rule on all legal challenges by the end of August and declare a president-elect by September 6.
Summary: Full Recount Rejected
Associated Press
THE STAKES: The closest presidential race in Mexican history. Ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon has an advantage of less than 0.6 percent, or about 240,000 votes, over leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
THE DECISION: Mexico's top electoral court voted to order a partial recount of nearly 12,000 polling places, rejecting Lopez Obrador's calls for a full recount. The partial recount will begin Wednesday and last five days.
THE REACTION: Protesters cry fraud and threaten increased civil disobedience. They have already seized Mexico City's main Reforma Avenue and the central Zocalo plaza. |
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