Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the leader of Mexico’s leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, announced on Tuesday that he asked Mexico’s Federal Election Institute for a recount of the ballots cast in Sunday’s presidential election. He was projected as the runner-up in the vote. Lopez Obrador’s demand came the day after he said the vote was “plagued by irregularities.” His declarations echoed comments he made in 2006, when election authorities said Lopez Obrador narrowly lost the presidential race to Felipe Calderon. The leftist candidate claimed election fraud and never conceded, referring to himself afterward as “the legitimate president of Mexico.”
On Monday, after president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto said it was time for his country to leave behind the political rancor of campaign season, Lopez Obrador called on his supporters to wait for official results. The Federal Election Institute’s verification of individual poll results will begin on Wednesday.
