In this brief Labor Day edition of Mexico News Roundup, all those concerned might in this topic might wish to prepare their respective internal energies for tomorrow:
The Federal Judicial Authority Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF in Spanish) published Monday the convocation for the magistrates to pronounce a ruling on the final count of the presidential election, and, in such case, the declaration of validity of the election and the president-elect....The Superior Court of the TEPJF will open its public session beginning at 8 am local time.
Informally I submit the song "Quien engaña no gana" from Ojos de Brujo, a Barcelona music collective, as one of the Mexico News Roundup unofficial theme songs.
Below the fold, an editorial from the New Mexico-based International Relations Center.
Just adding: this excerpt from Laura Carlsen of the International Relations Center's Americas Policy blog (thanks to
Counterpunch for reminding me of it). Follow link for full text. Bear in mind this was from Friday before outgoing President Fox's speech to Congress did not take place.
Chance for Legal Solution Narrows in Mexican Election
Laura Carlsen, IRC
September 1, 2006
Americas Program, International Relations Center (IRC)
...By throwing out most of the opposition's challenges to the July 2 elections on the grounds of filing errors, the Mexican Electoral Tribunal has closed another door to a legal solution and set the nation on a likely collision course...
...The court's ruling was based on a very narrow and peculiar interpretation of the law. Faced with a widespread popular demand for a recount, accusations of fraud against the conservative National Action Party (PAN), and indications that the Federal Electoral Institute had failed to act impartially, the tribunal agreed to carry out a partial recount involving only 9% of polling places.
Instead of releasing the full results of this exercise, the tribunal announced the nullification of 237,736 votes based on "irregularities." The irregularities noted were mainly due to differences between the number of ballots physically accounted for after voting and the number delivered according to the voter list for each polling place. More ballots than delivered could be an indication of ballot stuffing -- a time-honored practice in Mexico's long history of electoral fraud -- and fewer could indicate illegal destruction of votes...
...The high number of votes nullified in the review is also cause for concern. If extrapolated to the full vote, it could easily change the results in a race that ended up with a difference of only 239,751 votes. It also means that over a million voters were effectively disenfranchised by supposed technical errors--an historical record.
By assessing complaints based on technical criteria and attributing anomalies to counting problems, the court abdicated its responsibility to investigate and rule on electoral fraud. The judges defended their decision stating, "(Fraud) cannot be presumed, it must be proved ... The presumption exists that the polling place officials acted in good faith and by the law."...
The Tribunal has until September 6 to declare the president elect or nullify the presidential elections. New elections would be expensive, complicated, and controversial. But the alternative -- the imposition of a weak president on a divided populace -- could be much worse...
Laura Carlsen is director of the IRC Americas Program in Mexico City, where she has worked as a writer and political analyst for the past two decades.