"Free Elections Violated," say 800,000 Mexican protestors

Summary of AFP (Agence France Wire Report) Tues, July 18.

Mexican presidential candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, made a formal request on Tuesday for a recount or cancellation of the July 2 vote. His party's document said, "The principle of free elections has been violated."

"We will use civil resistance to defend democracy," Obrador said. He urged his supporters to force a recount by launching a campaign of civil disobedience to begin on Wednesday, July 19. The former mayor of Mexico City has alleged election fraud and that the outgoing president, Vicente Fox, gave unfair support to PAN candidate, Calderon.

800,000 marchers chanted "No to another '88", evoking the fraud-marred 1988 presidential election in which leftist Cuauhtemoc Cardenas lost to Carlos Salinas. "Fully repudiate the election fraud," others shouted at the rally on Sunday in Mexico City. Obrador called for another demonstration in two weeks on July 30.

Leftist PRD candidate, Lopez Obrador, who led Sunday's protest, launched an official challenge to the vote tally one week ago, submitting videos and 800 pages of documents to the Federal Election Tribunal which purportedly prove ballot-box stuffing and other cheating that he claims swung the election to his opponent.

Having agreed to hear Lopez Obrador's case, the election tribunal now has until September 6 to issue a final ruling. Mexico's president is to take office on December 1 for a six-year term.