Mexico's Local Elections Mired in Accusations of 'Vote-Buying'

The President of Mexico’s leftist National Regeneration Movement or MORENA, Marti Batres, expressed serious concerns over vote-buying in Mexico City in the capital's first elections since it became an autonomous entity within Mexico as opposed to a federal district.

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Batres said the delegations reporting problems were: Coyoacan, Iztapalapa, Alvaro Obregon, Gustavo A. Madero and Venustiano Carranza, all governed by the Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD.

A week ago Morena presented a lawsuit against the mayor of Mexico City, accusing him of having spent more than US$27,000 to hire staff and buy votes during the election period.

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Meanwhile, in the states of Oaxaca and Durango, officials from the National Electoral Institute claim ballot boxes have been stolen, although the body has not laid the blame on any one group or political party.

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Voters across Mexico are choosing new governors in a dozen of the country's 32 states, including bastions of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which are at risk of falling to the opposition after more than 80 years of one-party rule.

Claims of fraud and violence around voting are common in Mexican electoral campaigns, especially in the southern states.