After Mexico's election

Counted out

López Obrador, sore loser

Jul 14th 2012 | MEXICO CITY

AFTER recounting more than half the ballots at the request of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s electoral authority confirmed the original result of the July 1st presidential election. Mr López Obrador (31.6%) lost to Enrique Peña Nieto (38.2%) of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Despite the clear margin, Mr López Obrador wants the election annulled by the Electoral Tribunal. (He finds no fault with the congressional and gubernatorial races held on the same day, presumably because his left-wing coalition did well in them.) He claims that the PRI bought votes in return for supermarket gift-cards; the PRI says these were given out under a public programme, not for votes. The National Action Party, which came third, has made some belated complaints but accepts the result.

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