Posted on 07/05/2006 2:12:31 PM PDT by chilepepper
MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexico's leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds a small lead in the final vote count being conducted by the Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, based on results from 35.2% of polling stations, The Associated Press reported Wednesday afternoon.
Lopez Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, is ahead with 37.1%, while conservative Felipe Calderon of the ruling National Action Party, or PAN, has 34.3% of the vote, according to IFE.
A quick tally the night of Sunday's vote proved too close for IFE to call a winner, so election officials Wednesday started a full review of tallies compiled by polling stations. The process could take several days to complete.
In a preliminary vote count, Calderon led by a little over 400,000 votes, about 1 percentage point, with 98.5% of the country's more than 130,000 balloting places reporting.
Lopez Obrador's campaign has rejected the preliminary results and called on IFE to open ballot boxes and conduct a vote-by-vote recount, citing irregularities. Leonel Cota, president of the PRD, upped the stakes Wednesday by saying the campaign won't concede the election without a full recount.
While parties can appeal to district election officials to open ballot boxes for a recount, it's unclear if a nationwide recount is allowed under Mexican law.
bloomberg.com reported that 2.58 million votes were thrown out because of illegible markings - in mexican is must mean "chados colgantes" meethinks...
time to ask the Israelis about wall technology!
Los Chads Colgantes! Necesitamos Jimmy Carter, ahora!
Jimmy Carter says Obrador won in a fair election. Only 65% of the votes were illegal.
Lefties are gonna steal this one, and over half of Mexico is gonna be pissed off...I mean violent, blood in the streets pissed off. This guy is gonna be another Chavez-Castro crony. Better get that fence-wall up soon....if you think border crossings are bad now, it's gonna get a lot worse under this fool.
that's all Obrador needs.. from here on no matter what the end count, if he loses he can claim the election was stolen from him.
Which precincts have been reported first?
Ron Sims, please pick up the white courtesy phone, Ron Sims...
This is not good. It is in our national interest for Mexico to become free and prosperous. Electing this communist Obrador would be a giant leap in the wrong direction.
I had not really anticipated it, but a close election with the leftist losing by a narrow margin is just about the worst possible scenario because it will yield the kind of instability and political ratcheting-up-the-rhetoric that we have been seeing in the USA for the last 6 years. The difference is that the USA is much more stable than Mexico.
It could get ugly soon.
This article could not be less clear.
The dems are hoping and praying (actually they don't really pray) for a socialist/comunist victory in Mexico. This commie is one of their own. Vote fraud is a way of life for the dems and that is probably what is going on in Mexico. JessM
Coincidence? I think not.
Logan got hired by Los Angeles. I'm not kidding.
goddamn. the leftists are stealing the election?!??!
If Calderon holds a 1% lead with 98.5% of the vote counted, what is the possibility this would reverse to a 2.8% lead for Obragore, assuming the 35.2% of the polling places recounted so far weren't cherry-picked?
He will be right at home. So many illegal ballots / so little time....
Another interesting election. Thanks for posting.
There will come the point, given demographics, that he could become a kingmaker.
Why can't these people find real jobs? Is working for a fat, bloated, corrupt government really satisfying?
Not to mention Mexico...
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