This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/05/mexico-recount-presidential-vote
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Mexico recounting more than half presidential vote | Mexico recounting more than half presidential vote |
| (9 months later) | |
| Mexican electoral authorities are recounting more than half the ballot boxes used in the weekend's presidential election after finding inconsistencies in the vote tallies. | Mexican electoral authorities are recounting more than half the ballot boxes used in the weekend's presidential election after finding inconsistencies in the vote tallies. |
| Of the 143,000 ballot boxes used during Sunday's vote, 78,012 will be opened and the votes recounted, said Edmundo Jacobo, executive secretary of Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute. | Of the 143,000 ballot boxes used during Sunday's vote, 78,012 will be opened and the votes recounted, said Edmundo Jacobo, executive secretary of Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute. |
| Electoral officials expect the recount plus the final, official overall count on the presidential vote to be ready by Sunday, said Ana Fuentes, an IFE spokesman. | Electoral officials expect the recount plus the final, official overall count on the presidential vote to be ready by Sunday, said Ana Fuentes, an IFE spokesman. |
| Mexico's electoral law states that votes should be recounted if there are inconsistencies in the final tally reports, if there is a difference of one percentage point or less between the first and second place finishers or if all the votes in a ballot box are in favor of the same candidate. | Mexico's electoral law states that votes should be recounted if there are inconsistencies in the final tally reports, if there is a difference of one percentage point or less between the first and second place finishers or if all the votes in a ballot box are in favor of the same candidate. |
| With 99% of the vote tallied in the preliminary count, Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, led with 38% of the vote. Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party had 32%. | With 99% of the vote tallied in the preliminary count, Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, led with 38% of the vote. Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party had 32%. |
| Authorities also will recount 61% of the ballot boxes in the vote for Senate seats and 60% in the vote for the lower house of Congress, Jacobo said. | Authorities also will recount 61% of the ballot boxes in the vote for Senate seats and 60% in the vote for the lower house of Congress, Jacobo said. |
| The presidential front-runner expressed confidence on Wednesday about the recount. "I trust that the final tally will be consistent with the preliminary count," Peña Nieto said. | The presidential front-runner expressed confidence on Wednesday about the recount. "I trust that the final tally will be consistent with the preliminary count," Peña Nieto said. |
| López Obrador has refused to accept the preliminary vote tallies, saying the election campaign was marred by overspending, vote-buying and favourable treatment of Peña Nieto by Mexico's semi-monopolised television industry. | López Obrador has refused to accept the preliminary vote tallies, saying the election campaign was marred by overspending, vote-buying and favourable treatment of Peña Nieto by Mexico's semi-monopolised television industry. |
| The leftist candidate said on Tuesday that his team had detected irregularities at 113,855 polling places, and called for a total recount. | The leftist candidate said on Tuesday that his team had detected irregularities at 113,855 polling places, and called for a total recount. |
| Feeding suspicion of large-scale vote-buying were scenes of thousands of people rushing to grocery stores this week to redeem pre-paid gift cards they said the PRI had given them ahead of the election. Several told reporters they had been told to turn in a photocopy of their voter ID card in order to get the gift cards. | Feeding suspicion of large-scale vote-buying were scenes of thousands of people rushing to grocery stores this week to redeem pre-paid gift cards they said the PRI had given them ahead of the election. Several told reporters they had been told to turn in a photocopy of their voter ID card in order to get the gift cards. |
| Under Mexican election law, giving voters gifts is not a crime unless the gift is conditioned on a certain vote or is meant to influence a vote. However, the cost of such gifts must be reported, and cannot exceed campaign spending limits. Violations are usually punished with fines, but generally aren't considered grounds for annulling an election. | Under Mexican election law, giving voters gifts is not a crime unless the gift is conditioned on a certain vote or is meant to influence a vote. However, the cost of such gifts must be reported, and cannot exceed campaign spending limits. Violations are usually punished with fines, but generally aren't considered grounds for annulling an election. |
| Shoppers nearly stripped some shelves at a Soriana store in the poor district of Iztapalapa and officials in Mexico City, which is governed by Democratic Revolution, ordered at least one branch of the chain closed for alleged violation of safety codes. | Shoppers nearly stripped some shelves at a Soriana store in the poor district of Iztapalapa and officials in Mexico City, which is governed by Democratic Revolution, ordered at least one branch of the chain closed for alleged violation of safety codes. |
| Both the PRI and the supermarket company denied any irregularities. PRI spokesman Eduardo Sanchez said that "Neither the PRI's executive committee, nor Enrique Peña Nieto's campaign has contracted any service from the Soriana grocery store chain. | Both the PRI and the supermarket company denied any irregularities. PRI spokesman Eduardo Sanchez said that "Neither the PRI's executive committee, nor Enrique Peña Nieto's campaign has contracted any service from the Soriana grocery store chain. |
| Asked if some other local or congressional PRI candidate could have done it on behalf of Peña Nieto, he said "I don't know." | Asked if some other local or congressional PRI candidate could have done it on behalf of Peña Nieto, he said "I don't know." |
| Humberto Fayad, a spokesman for the Soriana chain, denied the company had sold huge amounts of gift cards to the PRI. | Humberto Fayad, a spokesman for the Soriana chain, denied the company had sold huge amounts of gift cards to the PRI. |
| "There is no agreement between the PRI and Soriana, or Soriana and any other political party. Soriana is a non-political company," Fayad said. | "There is no agreement between the PRI and Soriana, or Soriana and any other political party. Soriana is a non-political company," Fayad said. |
| The PRI, too, accused rivals in many parts of the country of handing out groceries or using government programs to influence voters. | The PRI, too, accused rivals in many parts of the country of handing out groceries or using government programs to influence voters. |
| The governing National Action Party accused Peña Nieto's campaign of acquiring about 9,500 prepaid gift cards worth nearly $5.2 million (71 million pesos) to give away for votes. Authorities said a business had bought that number of cards, but that they had found no direct evidence of vote-buying. That investigation continues. | The governing National Action Party accused Peña Nieto's campaign of acquiring about 9,500 prepaid gift cards worth nearly $5.2 million (71 million pesos) to give away for votes. Authorities said a business had bought that number of cards, but that they had found no direct evidence of vote-buying. That investigation continues. |
| On Tuesday, Alfredo Figueroa, a council member of the Electoral Institute, said authorities were investigating complaints about the Soriana gift cards. | On Tuesday, Alfredo Figueroa, a council member of the Electoral Institute, said authorities were investigating complaints about the Soriana gift cards. |
| Members of the institute have said they were aware of attempts to engage in vote buying. | Members of the institute have said they were aware of attempts to engage in vote buying. |
| guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |