Preliminary results of Mexico's presidential election give conservative Felipe Calderon a razor-thin victory, but a recount demand has raised the specter of a lengthy legal battle reminiscent of the 2000 US election.
The results issued by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) on Monday gave Calderon 36.38 percent of the vote to 35.34 percent for leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who disputed the outcome, claimed irregularities and demanded a recount.
Electoral authorities stressed the results are not valid until the ballot count is verified. IFE has until Sunday to complete the process, but the final outcome may not be known for months if the result is formally challenged.
The Federal Electoral Tribunal (Trife,) the final arbiter in electoral disputes, has until Sept. 6 to give its final seal of approval.
Calderon, 43, of the ruling National Action Party (PAN) insisted there was no question he had an "irreversible" lead over Lopez Obrador.
Lopez Obrador, 52, who had initially also claimed victory after Sunday's election, called for a recount, "polling station by polling station."
"There are many inconsistencies," said Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor and the standard bearer of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD.)
He said he would use legal means to challenge the current count, while his party announced the formation of a special committee to defend his "triumph."
The statements raised fears of bitter and lengthy legal disputes reminiscent of the electoral debacle in Florida that delayed the outcome of the 2000 US presidential election by five weeks.
The political cliffhanger was being closely followed by Washington, which had hoped to see a reversal of the trend that brought several leftist leaders to power across Latin America in recent years.
But Washington insisted on Monday it would work with whoever wins the election. Mexico "is an ally and neighbor, and obviously, we've got a great number of shared interests," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
Authorities urged Mexicans to patiently await the official outcome, after both frontrunners claimed victory and thousands took to the streets in rival victory celebrations shortly after Sunday's vote.
Calderon called for an end to the bitter political rivalries that marked the electoral campaign.
"Now is the time for conciliation," said Calderon, whose campaign had likened his rival to Venezuela's virulently anti-US leader Hugo Chavez, a comparison generally rejected by analysts.
Calderon has served as a lawmaker, PAN party president, and as energy minister in the Cabinet of President Vicente Fox, whose 2000 victory ended 71 years of authoritarian rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
RSS