VZCZCXYZ0039
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHME #3999/01 2001631
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191631Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2233
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS MEXICO 003999 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL MX
SUBJECT: NGO CITES ELECTION "IRREGULARITIES," SUPPORTS 
RECOUNT 
 
REF: MEXICO 3907 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  On July 14, poloffs met with Silvia Alonso, 
Executive Secretary of the influential NGO Alianza Civica 
(Civic Alliance), to discuss the findings of her 
organization's election observation mission.  She called on 
the electoral tribunal (TEPJF) to give greater credibility to 
the election results by ordering a recount of ballots from 
contested polling stations.  While Alonso acknowledged that 
she had not found any concrete proof of widespread or 
systematic fraud, she said Alianza Civica's (AC) observers 
had witnessed a number of irregularities, including possible 
voter coercion and inconsistent vote tally sheets, as well as 
anomalies in the Federal Electoral Institute's preliminary 
count (PREP), which she believes undermine public confidence 
in the fairness of the electoral process.  She emphasized 
that AC was not condemning the IFE's handling of the 
election, but rather was seeking a recount to promote greater 
public confidence in the results and the legitimacy of the 
newly-elected government.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) On July 14, poloffs met with Silvia Alonso, the 
Executive Secretary of AC, an organization devoted to 
fostering greater transparency and citizen participation in 
the Mexican political process, to discuss the organization's 
recent report on its election observation mission.  In 
coordination with 28 different organizations, AC fielded over 
2000 Mexican national observers along with 46 foreign 
observers in 26 states.  Because of its wide reach, AC is 
considered one of Mexico's most credible election-related 
NGOs and its call for a recount was widely published in major 
newspapers across Mexico. 
 
¶3.  (U) Alonso praised IFE's efficiency and organizational 
skills, particularly its ability to open all but 11 of over 
130,000 polling booths planned nationwide.  She said that 
while her AC's observers had not uncovered any evidence of 
widespread or systematic fraud, they had detected enough 
irregularities in individual precincts to warrant a recount, 
at least in those precincts.  One such problem related to the 
PREP count of the votes, which showed more votes having been 
cast for senate candidates than for the presidency in certain 
precincts.  Given the closeness of the presidential race, she 
asserted that such anomalies aroused suspicion as to the 
PREP's integrity.  Although the PREP itself was an unofficial 
count, she argued that its anomalies eroded public confidence 
that IFE's final results were legitimate. 
 
¶4.  (U) Alonso also discussed some of the problems AC 
observed in polling stations on Election Day.  She noted that 
4% of the polling stations AC visited did not have ink to 
mark votersQ, thumbs after they voted, and in 15% of the 
precincts, the ink apparently was of the incorrect type and 
was easily washed off.  According to AC observers, this 
occurred mostly in the states of Coahuila, Oaxaca, and 
Yucat n.  In 2% of the observed polling stations, 
particularly in Morelos, Coahuila, and Guerrero, AC observers 
reported cases of citizens arriving to vote who already had 
apparent ink stains on their thumbs; she was unable to 
confirm whether election workers had turned such voters away. 
 (Note:  These irregularities did not consistently occur in 
states favoring one particular political party; while 
Coahuila and Yucatan favored the PAN, Morelos, Guerrero and 
Oaxaca favored the PRD.  End note.) 
 
¶5.  (U) Alonso also mentioned that AC's observers detected 
possible violations of the right to a free and secret vote in 
11% of the voting booths they visited.  In most such cases, 
AC observers saw unauthorized people lingering around the 
polling stations, apparently holding lists of votersQ, names, 
presumably to keep track of who voted.  In a few cases, 
voters were observed revealing their votes to poll officials, 
and in some polling booths there was no curtain to assure 
voters' privacy.  In 14% of the polling stations AC observed, 
a less coercive but nonetheless illegal form of pressure came 
in the form of "mareas" or groups of people dressed in party 
colors, presumably to sway voters to vote for a particular 
political party.  (Note: Embassy observers in a traditional 
PRI stronghold in Oaxaca witnessed several men dressed in 
"PRI red" lingering around the voting place; nevertheless, in 
that particular voting station, the voting booths had 
curtains, guaranteeing the secrecy of the vote, and the men 
were not seen communicating with the voters.  End note.)  In 
9% of the polls observed, AC representatives witnessed voters 
being transported to the polls in large numbers ("voter 
round-ups"), a possible violation of electoral law. 
 
¶6.  (U) As for the July 5-6 vote retabulation, AC had 
representatives in 61 of IFE's 300 district councils, 
representing 14 different states.  Alonso described to us 
 
three types of problems that AC detected at the district 
retabulations.  First was the failure of many of the district 
presidents to call out the results publicly, as is standard 
procedure, so that everyone present could hear.  She 
conceded, however, that party representatives had access to 
paper copies of the PREP results and the Election Day tally 
sheets, so any inconsistency could be detected and challenged 
if necessary.  Second, in some districts the PREP result did 
not correspond with the final results in the possession of 
party representatives.  In many such cases, party 
representatives requested recounts; these recounts were 
often, but not universally, granted.  Finally, the AC 
identified a precinct in Nuevo Leon in which the number of 
ballots cast was greater than the number of voters registered. 
 
¶7.  (U) Although Alonso was complimentary of IFE's technical 
abilities, she said its General Council had demonstrated a 
lack of political aptitude or sensitivity.  She said IFEQ,s 
credibility may have been damaged not only by the problems 
with the PREP and official counts, but also by its failure to 
intervene to address possible electoral law violations during 
the campaign.  For instance, IFE had to be ordered by the 
TEPJF to order the PAN to remove a Calderon television ad 
declaring L"pez Obrador "a danger to Mexico," something she 
asserted it should have done on its own initiative, given its 
mandate to control slanderous political advertising.  Alonso 
also pointed out the lack of IFE intervention when President 
Vicente Fox openly and repeatedly called for political 
continuity during the campaign, implicitly (and 
impermissibly) favoring Calder"n.  Given these pre-election 
controversies, the Election Day irregularities, and the 
narrowness of the margin, Alonso told poloffs she believed 
IFE General Council President Luis Carlos Ugalde had been too 
forthcoming in his remarks on July 6, when he announced that, 
according to IFE's final returns, Calderon had received the 
most votes.  (Note: In a July 12 meeting, IFE Counselor 
Alejandra Latapi (reftel) told poloffs that IFE President 
Ugalde had made a point of never officially declaring 
Calderon the "winner;" she said that in his July 6 remarks, 
Ugalde had simply announced that according to IFE's final 
returns, Calderon had received the most votes, and that "the 
golden rule of democracy establishes that the candidate with 
the most votes wins."  End note.) 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment:  Alonso emphasized that although AC found 
no proof of widespread or systematic fraud, there were 
numerous irregularities, and she could not rule out the 
possibility that some represented isolated cases of fraud. 
She admitted that in many cases, human error, especially 
among less educated election workers, could be the main 
culprit behind the irregularities.  While IFE did its best to 
train election officials at the polling booths, under IFE 
procedures, these "officials" were all chosen at random from 
the general population, and the only educational prerequisite 
was that the workers be literate.  Many had no previous 
experience in working on elections.  Under these 
circumstances, numerous mathematical and procedural errors 
were inevitable.  Alonso stressed that she had confidence in 
the integrity of the TEPJF and believed that a partial or 
complete recount, at the discretion of the TEPJF, would help 
restore public confidence in the election results. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity 
 
GARZA