Uncertainty over election result
in Mexico

MEXICO, July 3 (PL).—Mexicans woke up this morning to a day of uncertainty as to who is to be their president for the next six years, increased by the decision of two of the candidates to proclaim themselves the winner.

Close to midnight, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) announced that the official count will only begin up until Wednesday in the district and local councils, closing July 9.

In a message to the nation, IFE president Luis Carlos Ugalde affirmed that the result of a rapid count in 7,000-plus polling stations throughout the country did not give any clear indication of the winner in the presidential elections.

He stated that this data was analyzed by a committee of five outstanding scientists, who determined that the advantage between the first and second place is so narrow that a winner could not be announced.

Ugalde called on the parties and their candidates to refrain from announcing victories not backed up by the IFE while emphasizing that after the successful vote yesterday "the whole country is demanding the prudence that this moment and the future of Mexico requires."

However, minutes later, the opposition candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the governing candidate Felipe Calderón proclaimed themselves electoral winners given the results of the findings of various opinion poll companies.

López Obrador, the candidate for the Por el bien de todos (For the Good of Everyone) coalition affirmed that he has an advantage of at least 500,000 votes, which he views as irreversible.

After reporting the findings of various surveys that had given him the victory, Calderón likewise announced his decision of forming a government of national unity.