Mexico 2006 >>>> Florida 2000
- From: ~Îñ©üßü§~ <sckfkrt@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 3 Jul 2006 23:14:36 +0200
Mexico poll is too close to call
Both leading candidates in Mexico's presidential elections have
claimed victory, although officials say the poll is too close to call.
A quick vote count based on sample figures had been expected to
generate a result within hours of polls closing.
But with the leftist and a conservative candidates running almost neck
and neck, officials have decided to count all votes before declaring
the winner.
Election officials said a winner would not be announced before
Wednesday.
Rousing speeches
Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon
said they would respect official results.
But both gave rousing speeches to supporters gathered at their
respective headquarters.
"According to our data we have won the vote by at least 500,000 votes.
This is irreversible," said Mr Lopez Obrador.
Thousands of his supporters gathered in the rain in the city's central
square shouted "Fraud! Fraud!", the Associated Press news agency
reported.
Shortly afterwards, Mr Calderon of the governing National Action Party
(PAN) party, pointed to several projections that showed him leading
and announced: "We have won the presidential elections."
Street celebrations broke out in both camps after the announcements.
High turnout
Amid concerns that the uncertainty could spark violence and political
chaos, President Vicente Fox appealed for calm:
"Citizens, we can have complete confidence that each one of our votes
will be properly counted and respected," he said.
The outcome of the vote will be watched closely throughout the
Americas but is of special concern to the US, where migration from
Mexico is a key issue.
Officials say turnout was high, after a lengthy campaign marked by
political insults and accompanied by a rise in drug violence.
The leading candidates have been offering alternative visions of how
to create jobs and boost the economy.
Among the 70 million people eligible to vote are thousands in the US,
after a decision to allow Mexicans living abroad to vote for the first
time.
In congressional elections, with 80% of polling stations reporting,
the PAN was in line to win the most seats but to fall well short of
gaining a majority in either house.
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico for 71
years, was set to fall into third place in Congress for the first
time.
Taking sides
The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Mexico City says the election has been
portrayed as a fight between left and right, a choice between more
state intervention or the continuation of free market policies.
Mr Lopez Obrador is a former mayor of Mexico City, who has championed
the poor and promised major public building programmes.
His main rival, Mr Calderon, is a Harvard-educated former government
minister who calls for more foreign investment and greater links to
the global economy.
A third candidate, the PRI's Roberto Madrazo, is said to have been
trailing in the polls.
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