Saturday, August 05, 2006
Mexican Election Court Rejects Call for Vote Recount
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aoo7bBc1qzYE&refer=home
(Update2)
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Mexico's Federal Electoral Court rejected presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's demand for a full recount of the July 2 vote, ordering instead a review of the tally at fewer than 10 percent of polling places.
The court's seven judges ruled unanimously that Lopez Orbador, who lost the race according to election authorities by 0.6 percentage point, had no claim to a full recount because he challenged results in only 174 of 300 electoral districts -- and some of his fraud claims didn't stand up. The court agreed to review ballots from 11,839 of more than 130,000 polling places.
The limited scope of the recount makes its unlikely Felipe Calderon's 243,934 margin of victory will be erased, said Todd Eisenstadt, a professor of government at American University in Washington and author of a book on Mexican election law. Mexican bonds and currency rallied on expectations Calderon, a former energy minister under President Vicente Fox, will maintain Fox's policies in favor of free trade, low inflation and spending restraints.
``It would seem that Lopez Obrador has an increasingly uphill battle to get the results reversed,'' Eisenstadt said today in a telephone interview.
Gerardo Fernandez, a spokesman for Lopez Obrador's political party, wasn't available for comment. His party said Lopez Obrador will comment during a speech at Mexico City's downtown square at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. New York time.)
Peso-denominated bonds extended a three-week rally last week on anticipation the court would order a partial recount of votes that will certify Calderon as the winner of the presidential elections.
More Protests Threatened
The yield on Mexico's peso bond due in 2015, which moves inversely to the bond's price, fell 0.083 percentage points to 8.33 percent, to the lowest in four months. The peso rose 0.5 percent to 10.9006 per dollar, adding to seven weeks of gains.
Lopez Obrador, 52, had threatened to step up street protests if the court turned down his petition for a full recount. The judges must now rule on his claim that the election shouldn't be validated because of illegal interference on Calderon's behalf during the campaign by President Vicente Fox, who like Calderon is a member of the National Action Party, and companies. The court made its decision at a public session today in Mexico City,
``Our petition is just and justice is the fundamental condition to consolidate our democracy and the base for social harmony,'' Lopez Obrador said last night during a meeting with supporters in Mexico City's downtown square.
After the ruling was announced, dozens of Lopez Obrador supporters gathered outside the court today were shouting: ``We've lost,'' and ``If there's no solution, there'll be revolution.''
Six-Year Term
The candidate's followers have blocked 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) of the city's main avenue since July 30 and held three mass rallies in downtown Mexico City to pressure the court to hold a vote-by-vote review. The blockade on Reforma avenue turned the eight-lane boulevard into a tent city, causing hotels and businesses in the area to lose about $23 million a day, according to the local chamber of commerce.
The recount will begin on Aug. 9 and last five days, the court said. Judges at district offices will be in charge of the recount and a representative from each party will be present.
The court has until Aug. 31 to rule on all the challenges to the election and make a final tally of votes. By Sept. 6, the court must declare the election valid or not. The court's decisions cannot be appealed. Mexico's new president takes office for a six-year term on Dec. 1.
During his campaign, Calderon, 43, vowed to lower income taxes and attract more investment to boost job creation while maintaining Fox's spending restraints that helped slash annual inflation to 3 percent from 9 percent in 2000 and spurred banks to lend to consumers at fixed rates in pesos for the first time in decades.
Calderon had said he would accept the court's ruling no matter what because the election was clean and transparent.
``This is the correct decision,'' said German Martinez, who headed the team of lawyers for Calderon, in an interview on W Radio in Mexico City. ``This decision gives certainty to the final tally.''
Candidate Files Complaints
Lopez Obrador, of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, promised to increase government spending to fight poverty and to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to protect smaller farmers.
Lopez Obrador's legal team filed 230 separate complaints across the nation to challenge the election, according to the electoral court. The team filed on July 10 an almost 900-page lawsuit asking the court for a ballot-by-ballot recount of the election on July 10 and citing mathematical errors in the vote tally and about 900,000 nullified votes as evidence of systematic irregularities.
The lawsuit also claims the election campaign was tainted by unlawful interference by Fox and companies supporting Calderon and asks the court not to validate the election.
The court's ruling can bee seen as favorable for Lopez Obrador because the number of polling stations is large enough to pick up on any trend of systematic fraud, said Lorenzo Cordova, a professor with the National Autonomous University of Mexico who specializes in electoral law in an interview with a W Radio in Mexico City.
``This is a victory for'' Lopez Obrador,'' Cordova said. ``They are opening up the possibility to verify if his accusation are substantiated or not.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Thomas Black in Monterrey, Mexico at tblack@bloomberg.net
(Update2)
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Mexico's Federal Electoral Court rejected presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's demand for a full recount of the July 2 vote, ordering instead a review of the tally at fewer than 10 percent of polling places.
The court's seven judges ruled unanimously that Lopez Orbador, who lost the race according to election authorities by 0.6 percentage point, had no claim to a full recount because he challenged results in only 174 of 300 electoral districts -- and some of his fraud claims didn't stand up. The court agreed to review ballots from 11,839 of more than 130,000 polling places.
The limited scope of the recount makes its unlikely Felipe Calderon's 243,934 margin of victory will be erased, said Todd Eisenstadt, a professor of government at American University in Washington and author of a book on Mexican election law. Mexican bonds and currency rallied on expectations Calderon, a former energy minister under President Vicente Fox, will maintain Fox's policies in favor of free trade, low inflation and spending restraints.
``It would seem that Lopez Obrador has an increasingly uphill battle to get the results reversed,'' Eisenstadt said today in a telephone interview.
Gerardo Fernandez, a spokesman for Lopez Obrador's political party, wasn't available for comment. His party said Lopez Obrador will comment during a speech at Mexico City's downtown square at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. New York time.)
Peso-denominated bonds extended a three-week rally last week on anticipation the court would order a partial recount of votes that will certify Calderon as the winner of the presidential elections.
More Protests Threatened
The yield on Mexico's peso bond due in 2015, which moves inversely to the bond's price, fell 0.083 percentage points to 8.33 percent, to the lowest in four months. The peso rose 0.5 percent to 10.9006 per dollar, adding to seven weeks of gains.
Lopez Obrador, 52, had threatened to step up street protests if the court turned down his petition for a full recount. The judges must now rule on his claim that the election shouldn't be validated because of illegal interference on Calderon's behalf during the campaign by President Vicente Fox, who like Calderon is a member of the National Action Party, and companies. The court made its decision at a public session today in Mexico City,
``Our petition is just and justice is the fundamental condition to consolidate our democracy and the base for social harmony,'' Lopez Obrador said last night during a meeting with supporters in Mexico City's downtown square.
After the ruling was announced, dozens of Lopez Obrador supporters gathered outside the court today were shouting: ``We've lost,'' and ``If there's no solution, there'll be revolution.''
Six-Year Term
The candidate's followers have blocked 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) of the city's main avenue since July 30 and held three mass rallies in downtown Mexico City to pressure the court to hold a vote-by-vote review. The blockade on Reforma avenue turned the eight-lane boulevard into a tent city, causing hotels and businesses in the area to lose about $23 million a day, according to the local chamber of commerce.
The recount will begin on Aug. 9 and last five days, the court said. Judges at district offices will be in charge of the recount and a representative from each party will be present.
The court has until Aug. 31 to rule on all the challenges to the election and make a final tally of votes. By Sept. 6, the court must declare the election valid or not. The court's decisions cannot be appealed. Mexico's new president takes office for a six-year term on Dec. 1.
During his campaign, Calderon, 43, vowed to lower income taxes and attract more investment to boost job creation while maintaining Fox's spending restraints that helped slash annual inflation to 3 percent from 9 percent in 2000 and spurred banks to lend to consumers at fixed rates in pesos for the first time in decades.
Calderon had said he would accept the court's ruling no matter what because the election was clean and transparent.
``This is the correct decision,'' said German Martinez, who headed the team of lawyers for Calderon, in an interview on W Radio in Mexico City. ``This decision gives certainty to the final tally.''
Candidate Files Complaints
Lopez Obrador, of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, promised to increase government spending to fight poverty and to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to protect smaller farmers.
Lopez Obrador's legal team filed 230 separate complaints across the nation to challenge the election, according to the electoral court. The team filed on July 10 an almost 900-page lawsuit asking the court for a ballot-by-ballot recount of the election on July 10 and citing mathematical errors in the vote tally and about 900,000 nullified votes as evidence of systematic irregularities.
The lawsuit also claims the election campaign was tainted by unlawful interference by Fox and companies supporting Calderon and asks the court not to validate the election.
The court's ruling can bee seen as favorable for Lopez Obrador because the number of polling stations is large enough to pick up on any trend of systematic fraud, said Lorenzo Cordova, a professor with the National Autonomous University of Mexico who specializes in electoral law in an interview with a W Radio in Mexico City.
``This is a victory for'' Lopez Obrador,'' Cordova said. ``They are opening up the possibility to verify if his accusation are substantiated or not.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Thomas Black in Monterrey, Mexico at tblack@bloomberg.net
# posted by Nancy T. @ 4:08 PM 
