Mexicans challenge Pena Nieto's victory in huge march

 

       Tens of thousands of people in Mexico City are demonstrating against the result of the presidential election, which was won by Enrique Pena Nieto. 

     The demonstrators, who are not necessarily linked to any particular party, say the vote was not fair.

    They accuse Mr Pena Nieto's party, the PRI, of buying votes; some carried banners saying "Not another fraud".

     Mr Pena Nieto, who was declared the winner after a recount of nearly half the votes, denies the allegation.

     The second-placed candidate in Mexico's presidential election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has said he will mount a legal challenge to the result.

    He said he would prove that illicit money was used to buy votes in the 1 July poll and secure the victory of centrist candidate Enrique Pena Nieto, who denies this.

 Supermarket votes

        Six years ago, after losing the presidential election by a narrow margin, the left-wing Mr Lopez Obrador led weeks of protests that caused disruption in central areas of Mexico City.

       Mr Pena Nieto was confirmed the winner on Friday after a final recount, with 38.21% to Mr Lopez Obrador's 31.59%.

      Third-placed Josefina Vazquez Mota, from the right-wing National Action Party, has admitted defeat.

     But the BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City says there is a broad spread of people, not necessarily from the left, who feel that votes in their parts of Mexico were tampered with.

     But Mr Lopez Obrador, of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, said the election had been fraudulent and that he would file an appeal next week.

    He accuses the party of Mr Pena Nieto, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, of paying for votes using gift cards for a supermarket chain.

    Numerous videos have emerged of people claiming they received credit in exchange for voting for the PRI.

    The party governed Mexico for 71 years until it was defeated in the 2000 presidential poll.

 

 

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Mexico's Lopez Obrador refuses to admit defeat

          The second-placed candidate in Mexico's presidential election has refused to admit defeat, saying his opponent broke electoral rules.

         With almost all votes counted, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is six points behind the presumedPresident-elect Enrique Pena Nieto.

          Mr Pena Nieto has thanked voters for giving his PRI party another chance and has vowed no return to the past.

         But Mr Lopez Obrador has not ruled out challenging the result.

        The lefist candidate and former mayor of Mexico City launched months of street protests in 2006 after losing the last election to Felipe Calderon by less than one point.

         Mr Pena Nieto, 45, declared himself the winner of Sunday's presidential election after a preliminary count.

         He promised to govern "with and for all", saying he would "honour" the PRI's second chance with "a new style of governing".

      War on drugs

        The PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) governed Mexico for 71 years but has been out of power since 2000.

         With more than 96% of the vote counted, Mr Pena Nieto had secured 38.05% of votes cast, compared with 31.7% for Mr Lopez Obrador, preliminary official results showed.
         Josefina Vazquez Mota, the candidate of Mr Calderon's governing National Action Party (PAN), took 25.44% and has already accepted defeat.

         The election campaign was dominated by the economy and the war on drugs.

          Many voters abandoned the PAN because of the deaths of more than 55,000 people in drug-related violence since President Calderon deployed the army to fight Mexico's drug cartels.

          Mr Lopez Obrador said he would await a full count and a legal review before accepting any result.
In 2006, he launched months of street protests and alleged vote fraud after he was found to have lost to Mr Calderon by 1%.

          With nearly half the Mexican population living in poverty, the economy was one of the main issues in the campaign.

            Unemployment remains low at roughly 4.5%, but a huge divide remains between the rich and the poor.

         Mr Pena Nieto had been presented as the new face of the PRI, a break with the party's long and at times murky past that included links with drug gangs.
        The party held on to power for 71 years until it was defeated in 2000.

         Mr Pena Nieto built his reputation on the "pledges" he set out for his governorship in Mexico state, focusing on public works and improvement of infrastructure.

        Outgoing President Felipe Calderon has congratulated Mr Pena Nieto and promised to work with him during the transition to his inauguration in Decembe

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Mexico's Enrique Pena Nieto 'wins' presidential poll

 

            Mexico's old ruling party, the PRI, is set to return to power as early official results indicate its candidate Enrique Pena Nieto has won the presidential election. 
   
Mr Pena Nieto, 45, is on some 38%, several points ahead of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has not conceded.
Thousands of police were on duty for the vote, amid fears of intimidation from drug gangs.
Mexicans were also electing a new congress and some state governors.
 
New face'

      Celebrations at the headquarters of the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) started after the polls closed.

Mr Pena Nieto declared: "We all won in this election. Mexico won."
"This is just the start of the work we have before us."
He thanked Mexican voters for giving the PRI a second chance, saying his administration would have a "new way of governing".
The election campaign was dominated by the economy and the war on drugs.
              
"There will be no pact nor truce with organised crime," Mr Pena Nieto said.
He had been presented as the new face of the PRI, a break with the party's long and at times murky past that included links with drug gangs.
The party held on to power for 71 years until it was defeated in 2000.
Mr Pena Nieto built his reputation on the "pledges" he set out for his governorship in Mexico state, focusing on public works and improvement of infrastructure.
            
Outoing President Felipe Calderon has congratulated Mr Pena Nieto and promised to work with him during the transition to his inauguration in December.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, running for the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) is in second place with about 31% of the vote.
Mr Lopez Obrador, who was the runner-up in the 2006 election, has not conceded victory.
"The last word hasn't been spoken yet," he said.
In 2006, he refused to recognise Mr Calderon's victory and led street protests for months afterwards.
Josefina Vazquez Mota, the candidate of the governing National Action Party (PAN) had already accepted defeat.
The official quick count by the electoral authorities, IFE, put her on some 26%.
Security display Almost 80 million people were eligible to cast their ballots on Sunday.

People in Mexico City talk about what they want for their country's future

Police and army were deployed to protect voters from intimidation by drug cartels at polling booths.
Officials said the voting was largely peaceful, but reported some initial problems as a number of stations opened later than planned.
"Everything has been very good," one voter in Mexico City told the BBC. "But people aren't very motivated to vote, perhaps because the candidates make so many promises but we're always worse off."
With nearly half the Mexican population living in poverty, the economy was one of the main issues in the campaign.
Unemployment remains low at roughly 4.5%, but a huge divide remains between the rich and the poor.
Another issue dominating the campaign was the war on drugs, launched nearly six years ago by President Calderon, who is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.
The main opposition candidates have been critical of Mr Calderon's policies.
They point out that more than 55,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 2006.
Mexicans were also electing 500 deputies, 128 senators, six state governors, the head of government in the Federal District (which includes Mexico City) and local governments.

Are you in Mexico? Did you vote? What did you think of the election? Send us your comments and experiences.

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