Obrador vows to dispute Mexico election results

MEXICO’S ruling party’s Felipe Calderon has gained an insurmountable lead in the presidential vote count, but his leftist rival vowed yesterday to challenge the results in court, setting the stage for a long battle over who will lead the nation’s young democracy.

With 99.59% of the vote counted, Felipe Calderon would win even if all the remaining votes went to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party.

He had 35.83% of the vote, compared with 35.36% for Mr Lopez Obrador.

Just less than 200,000 votes separated them.

Supporters of Mr Lopez Obrador, who promised to govern for Mexico’s millions of poor and forgotten, wept in the streets, saying they weren’t going to let their leader be robbed of his victory.

At a news conference, Mr Lopez Obrador called on supporters to gather this weekend in Mexico City’s centre, fuelling fears that he would mobilise massive protests that could lead to violence.

Mr Lopez Obrador had led throughout the official count until he was overtaken by Calderon with 97% of the votes tallied.

Ruling party officials said Mr Lopez Obrador had been ahead only because his people had been stalling the count with protests in Mr Calderon’s strongholds.

Once the count is complete, it can be disputed before the country’s top electoral court. A winner must be declared by September 6.

As the count switched to Mr Calderon’s favour before dawn, he called for the country to move beyond the bitter race.

“Starting today, let us help Mexico begin a new era of peace, of reconciliation,” he said.

He called Sunday’s election “the most democratic and cleanest in the history of Mexico,” and he asked his rival and all Mexicans to erase their bitter divisions and focus “not on our differences, but on our similarities.”