On July 6, after counting the number of vote, the Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE) announced that Felipe Calderón had won the presidential elections by a 0.58% margin. However, they failed to make it clear that it was a provisional, nor a definite, outcome, since giving the final voting results is exclusively the job of the Federal Electoral Commission's Higher Court (and exceptionally to other authorities).
As established in Article 99 of the Constitution, "Any challenge to the elections of the President of the Republic will be resolved by the Higher Court", and only the Higher Court "will be in charge of the final count of the votes for the Presidency, and once any challenge made is resolved it will proceed to declare the validity of both the election and the President-elect taking into account the candidate who got the higher number of votes". (underlined by the undersigned.)
Therefore, Mexico's Supreme Law specifies that the abovementioned Higher Court is the only authority entitled to announce a presidential election's final and legal result after solving the challenges imposed on July 9 and 10 and counting the number of votes. The same Constitution states that, as long as a resolution by the Higher Court is not issued, all the contenders are presumed candidates.
No one can claim victory, much less when the difference is barely 0.58% of a total 100%, according to IFE, so Calderón has neither won the election nor can he ride roughshod over the law by proclaiming himself President-elect, because the challenges can radically change IFE's provisional results.
Accordingly, we demand PAN, Calderón, businesspersons and the leaders of Mexico and other countries of the world: to abstain from explicitly or implicitly recognizing Felipe Calderón as the winner of the election, let alone President-elect of the Mexicans out of consideration for Mexico's Constitution, people's free will and the Mexican people's sovereignty.
Mexico, DF, July 10, 2006.
Best regards,
Asociación Nacional de Abogados Democráticos, ANAD.
DECLARATION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF JURISTS ABOUT THE ELECTIONS IN MEXICO
The American Association of Jurists, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), expresses its concern about the counting of the votes in the election recently held in Mexico, questioned by vast sectors in that country and specially by the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD), who believe popular will has been disregarded.
The purity of an election is a key condition for a democratic system and any ruler's legitimacy, as well as an obligation established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international instruments ratified by the Mexican State. Consequently, and particularly taking into account the negligible difference in the number of votes received by the two most voted-for candidates, we deem it essential that the Electoral Federal Court sustain the appeal to recount all the ballots on a vote-by-vote basis, a pressing condition so that no citizen harbor any doubt about the final result and the stability and legitimacy of the winner be guaranteed. Any argument to the contrary, even if based on the existing laws, yields to the need of ensuring both transparency in the election result and respect to popular sovereignty.
July 10, 2006
Dr. Clea Carpi da Rocha – President AAJ Continental
Dr. Vanessa Ramos – Secretary-General
Dr. Beinusz Szmukler – President of the Consultative Council
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FALSIFY THIS COUNTRY
By Gerardo Unzueta
There was neither a moment's rest nor carelessness between the third year of Fox's six-year period and the first two weeks in Ugalde's month. Does the word plot upset you? Fine, let's call it conspiracy, but it happened. Let's agree on something: it's a conspiracy by the fundamentalist right against Mexican democracy.
Of course, that conspiracy had several episodes; some tragic ones, like Marta Sahagún's candidacy, and some funny ones like Vicente's visits to foreign countries. And some heroic ones too: the combat of the collective character against the outrage with no other protection than popular sovereignty.
But let's concede that what happened in 2005 and before is history and tackle the events within the conspiracy in the last quarter, since April when a Saturday columnist advised Acción Nacional's candidate to abandon any softness or decency and charge thoughtlessly at his adversary. It was the beginning of PAN's countless provocations, insults, slanderous rumors and lies that turned politics into a quagmire.
The first goal was to fight López Obrador, destroy his image as an honest leader, misinform about his policies in the Federal District, ascribe to him wastes of public works and, since PAN is opposed to social security, brand as alimony the universal pension for the elderly. Second, to invest many millions in disseminating that the electoral campaign would be "the most competed for in Mexico's history" as they prepared a very extensive fraud through a multiple count of the votes in the polling booths in favor of Felipe and the discount of the aforesaid's votes.
Third –given that it was impossible to reach figures higher than Mr. López's real number of votes–, to convince the citizens that "one vote is enough to win an election in a democracy", and that nobody should complain if Ugalde claims the majority of Felipe's votes… with a 0.5% advantagea!, despite evidence of many "errors", "inconsistencies" and plain forgery of the votes from fifty thousand booths.
How does the conspiracy end? First of all with a demand that the results claimed by Mr. Ugalde –that's why they appointed this IFE, PRI and PAN General Council!– be accepted by López Obrador and the Coalition on the grounds that there must be respect for an institution that is now betraying its brilliant past. For not doing it, attempts are currently underway to lynch the AMLO and the Coalition. One of the instruments to do this is Felipe's hypocritical position of appealing for harmony and unity, as long as he be recognized as President–"elect".
Both he and his party are trying to ignore the constitutional provision according to which the Election Commission of the Federation's Judiciary grants the final say in the process. "Even if everybody takes to the streets to cheer for the result and build a monument to the electoral authorities and the unknown citizen for their participation, the Higher Court has to know about the qualification of the election", said the Triad's Chairman.
No, gentlemen of PAN; no, Felipe: you won't be able to falsify this country even if you have the whole economic power behind you. Whatever conspiracy you organize to such end will fail. The collective character who defeated you on April 24 is ready to stand up no matter how angry "the good consciences" may get. The intention is not to see great changes, just what brought them about: to decide who will rule and on what basis. And today, that means counting every single vote.
