The president of Mexico's top electoral court recommended yesterday that his fellow judges uphold the slim lead of ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.
The recommendation must still be approved by the full tribunal, but Leonel Castillo recommended that the seven magistrates certify a final vote count showing Calderon with a 233,831-vote lead out of 41.6 million cast. The recommendation would trim Calderon's earlier lead of 240,000.
Yesterday's long-awaited ruling by the Federal Electoral Tribunal -- which comes two months, three days, and tens of thousands of pages of legal challenges after voters cast their ballots -- is unlikely to end potentially explosive protests or close the growing political divide gripping the country.
PHOTO: AFP
The tribunal's decision in final and cannot be appealed.
Calderon's rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has already vowed to ignore the decision.
Supporters of Lopez Obrador set up an overnight camp at the tribunal's headquarters late on Monday, vowing to prevent the judges from declaring Calderon president-elect. But only a few remained early yesterday.
"This has been fraudulent from start to finish. Today, nothing will be decided," said Claudio Martinez, 23.
During the early morning session, the seven magistrates of the tribunal were to decide whether the election was valid. While they have the power to annul the election, there are no signs they plan to do so. Both sides have said they believe the judges will confirm a Calderon victory.
"We are very calm, very sure," Juan Camilo Mourino, who heads Calderon's transition team, said on Monday. "Tomorrow, Felipe Calderon will be president-elect."
Lopez Obrador barely made mention of the impending decision on Monday during his nightly address to followers in Mexico City's historic central plaza, the Zocalo.
Instead, he focused on an upcoming national convention of his supporters to decide if he should declare himself head of a parallel government whose members would propose government reforms.
"This movement is now about transforming the country," he said.
"What we are proposing now could just be a dream -- maybe it won't bear fruit, maybe it will be that we fail -- but you know what we have? We have confidence, and above all the responsibility to do it," he said.
"The dreams of the men and women of today will be the realities of tomorrow," he said.
The convention is planned for Sept. 16, Mexico's Independence Day, in the Zocalo, where the armed forces traditionally gather for a march down Mexico City's main Reforma avenue. Both places have been occupied by protesters for more than a month.
Lopez Obrador and his supporters claim fraud, illicit government spending and dirty tricks swayed the election in favor of Calderon, a member of President Vicente Fox's National Action Party.
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