Mexico's election body probes alleged political interference ahead of judicial vote

By Cassandra Garrison

Mexico's electoral authority is investigating complaints that political groups, including ruling party Morena, are trying to sway voters in the upcoming judicial elections, an official at the body said on Monday.

Mexicans will head to the polls on Sunday to choose among roughly 5,000 candidates vying for more than 840 federal judge and magistrate positions, including all Supreme Court justices. They will be Mexico's first-ever judicial elections.

Electoral rules dictate that candidates cannot use campaign materials that link them to a political party, participate in events organized by political parties, or accept donations of any kind.

Claudia Zavala, an electoral adviser at election body INE, told Reuters the institution is looking into two complaints. The first alleges that the government of northern state Nuevo Leon and political party Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) asked civil servants to take voters to polls and shared pamphlets promoting the names of candidates.

The second complaint, in Mexico City, the capital, raises similar allegations against civil servants and ruling party Morena.

The investigations come after videos of people passing out the pamphlets circulated on social media.

"We must respect the people, the citizens, the women and men who have the right to go to the polls and freely decide who they want as their judges, magistrates and ministers, ... and no one should be telling anyone how to vote," Zavala said.

The government of Nuevo Leon, Morena and MC all did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

INE will decide through its investigation whether there has been a violation of the rules, Zavala said, and will pass the information on to the electoral tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, which will ultimately rule on the case.

Mexico's first-ever judicial elections, the result of a reform proposed by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, have attracted criticism that they risk removing checks and balances on the ruling Morena party and could allow organized crime groups greater influence over the judicial system.