Missing Votes Add to Turmoil in Mexico

UNCOUNTED BALLOTS CASTING DOUBT ON CONSERVATIVE'S LEAD
By Kevin G. Hall and Jay Root
McClatchy Mexico City Bureau

MEXICO CITY - Discovery of 3.5 million uncounted ballots in Mexico's disputed presidential election cast doubt Tuesday on early projections showing conservative Felipe Calderón in the lead, raising fears of prolonged uncertainty and political unrest.

The standoff has left Mexico the equivalent of one hanging chad away from a Latin American version of the disputed 2000 U.S. presidential contest in Florida -- only with a greater potential for unrest among the country's poor masses, who already are receptive to the idea of fraudulent elections.

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MEXICO CITY, July 4 -- A big question looms over Mexico: Will Andrés Manuel López Obrador unleash the fury of the streets?

Emotions here intensified Tuesday as Mexico's electoral commission counted additional ballots, shrinking the lead of López Obrador's opponent, Felipe Calderón, from 400,000 votes, or 1 percent, to 257,000 votes, or 0.64 percent. López Obrador's supporters have also reacted emotionally as the populist candidate and his top aides have outlined a growing list of alleged election law violations. No large demonstrations have been held yet, apparently because López Obrador's supporters are waiting for a signal from him and because they want to see the results of an official count that begins Wednesday

Still, the rhetoric is getting more heated. On Tuesday, López Obrador's campaign demanded a ballot-by-ballot recount. And Emilio Serrano, a federal legislator from the candidate's Democratic Revolutionary Party, or PRD, said in an interview that violence is possible if the vote-tampering allegations are proved.

"We are not afraid to die in the fight," Serrano said. "We in the public are tired of the lies and the abuses, which have been demonstrated over the length of our history."

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He said vote tally sheets filled out by volunteer workers across the country contained errors that required detailed review before they could be included in the final tally. The newspaper Universal said votes from 2,000 precincts still have not been counted.

The 2.58 million votes in question would narrow Calderón's lead of 402,500 votes to 257,532 votes. That would narrow the National Action Party candidate's advantage to 0.6 percent, raising hopes among López Obrador's supporters that he could pull out a victory.

In a TV interview yesterday morning, Ugalde seemed to confirm the PRD's accusations when he acknowledged that the preliminary count is not accurate enough to determine the winner of the presidential race.

He said the disputed votes were not tallied because they were illegible or did not reach his office in time.

“It is a matter of human error,” Ugalde said, “not fraud.”

But with the IFE set to begin its final vote tabulation today of a record 41 million ballots, the new admissions about uncounted votes and missing tally sheets cast doubts over Sunday's election.

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