Worse-Than-Expected Turnout In Mexico's Referendum On Probing Ex-Presidents - Institute

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2021) Only 6.4% of Mexicans spoke out in a nationwide referendum on investigating the country's past political leaders, signaling a lukewarm response to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's call for probing his five predecessors for alleged corruption, according to the National Electoral Institute (INE).

According to the data published by INE on Monday, of the slightly more than 93.6 million Mexican citizens who were able to exercise the right to express their opinions in the 57,070 polling stations on Sunday, the nationwide turnout tentatively peaked at 6.4%.

The forecast of the results of the country's first-ever referendum, based on the processing of more than 92% of the protocols, speaks of a confident victory for supporters of the investigation of the ex-presidents and politicians: 97.7% of citizens voted for, while 1.5% voted against.

However, the low turnout brings into question the legitimacy of the vote � the turnout threshold per law is 40%.

At the end of November 2020, the Senate of Mexico approved the draft amendments to the constitution by 89 votes in favor and 23 votes against. It was decided to limit the immunity of the country's presidents from criminal prosecution under most articles. According to the senators, the president's liability will contribute to the fight against impunity for senior civil servants. To prosecute the head of the executive branch during his term of office, the charges must be confirmed by the Senate of the Republic.

Incumbent President Lopez Obrador blamed former leaders Carlos Salinas, Ernesto Zedillo, Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderon, and Enrique Pena Nieto, whose administrations spanned from 1988 to 2018, for aggravating many of Mexico's woes, from poverty to insecurity.