Page 11 - ARUBA TODAY

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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 6 June 2017

Philippines: Mexico:

Lawmakers ask Ruling party has preliminary lead in key state vote
high courts to

end martial law By PETER ORSI
MARIA VERZA
MANILA, Philippines (AP) Associated Press
— Philippine opposition MEXICO CITY (AP) — The
lawmakers petitioned the ruling party’s candidate
Supreme Court on Mon- held a slight advantage on
day to review and nullify in preliminary vote counts
President Rodrigo Duterte’s on Monday in the race for
imposition of martial law governor of Mexico’s most
in the southern third of the populous state, an election
country. The petition filed seen as a key test ahead
by six House lawmakers led of next year’s presidential
by Rep. Edcel Lagman said election.
there was no revolution or With about 97 percent of
invasion where public safe- votes counted, Alfredo del
ty required the declaration Mazo of the Institutional
of martial law and suspen- Revolutionary Party, or PRI,
sion of the writ of habeas had won 33.7 percent of
corpus. It said the procla- the votes in Mexico State,
mation contained “fatal compared with 30.8 per-
inaccuracies and falsities.” cent for his closest rival, A woman emerges from a privacy booth, reading in Spanish “The vote is free and secret,” after
The petitioners said con- Delfina Gomez of the left- marking her ballot for governor at a polling station in Chimalhuacan, Mexico state, Sunday, June
gressional leaders and the ist Morena party. Mexico 4, 2017. The ruling party’s candidate held a slight advantage on in preliminary vote counts on
majority of lawmakers allied State surrounds Mexico Monday in the race for governor of Mexico’s most populous state, an election seen as a key test
with Duterte were derelict City, and includes many ahead of next year’s presidential election.
in their constitutional duty of its suburbs and outlying (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
by refusing to convene a slums. Final ballot counts the party next year. Con- The other two main par- pez Obrador said in brief
joint session of Congress to are expected by Wednes- sidering the power of the ties, the leftist Democratic televised remarks. “Delfina
vote whether to revoke the day. A PRI victory would PRI’s political machine in Revolution and the con- won, and we are going to
martial law proclamation. hand the party a lifeline, af- the state and the fact that servative National Action, prove it. We will not accept
Duterte made the declara- ter President Enrique Pena Gomez was practically un- were behind in the state any electoral fraud. ... Mex-
tion May 23 after extremists Nieto’s approval ratings known eight months ago, by significant margins. But ico needs democracy.”
allied with the Islamic State dipped to near single digits the result so far signals “an the Mexico State elec- Both Del Mazo and Go-
group laid siege to Marawi and a parade of former PRI enormous discontent with tions will also be a test for mez have proclaimed vic-
city. The declaration lasts governors were jailed for the PRI” and portends a Gomez, the hand-picked tory, something that hap-
through mid-July but could corruption. Many believed “very bad scenario” for the candidate of Morena party pens commonly in Mexico.
be extended with the con- the party would have party and the president, leader and 2018 presiden- PRI party leader Enrique
sent of Congress. been essentially knocked he argued. Jose Antonio tial hopeful Andres Manuel Ochoa suggested Del
The martial law proclama- out of the 2018 presidential Crespo, a political ana- Lopez Obrador. If Gomez’ Mazo’s victory was a win
tion said the militants open- race if it failed to hold on to lyst at Mexico’s Center for campaign holds protests against Lopez Obrador,
ly attempted to remove its last big bastion, Pena Ni- Economic Research and in Mexico State, it could stir a leftist who the PRI has
that part of the country eto’s home state and one Teaching, said that with the up memories of Lopez Ob- consistently tried to link to
from its allegiance to the it has governed without in- bruising elections in Mexico rador’s unpopular decision Venezuela’s hard-line leftist
Philippine government by terruption for 88 years. state the PRI “is not going to block streets In Mexico president, Nicolas Maduro.
taking over a hospital, es- But if Del Mazo wins, he will to win any more prestige City for months in 2006 to “We stopped the advance
tablishing several check- face a state where two- or recover its lost credibility. protest perceived vote of authoritarian populism
points in the city, burning thirds of voters opposed On the contrary, the PRI in- fraud in his narrow loss in in Mexico State, and to-
down certain government him. Political analyst Ray- sists on playing dirty.” the presidential race. gether we will do so again
and private facilities, and mundo Riva Palacio said “As far as 2018 is con- On Monday, Lopez Obra- successfully in 2018. Mexico
flying the flag of the Islam- such a narrow, “pyrrhic” PRI cerned, they lost prestige, it dor said Gomez’ campaign doesn’t deserve to be Ven-
ic State group in several victory in the state of Mex- sends a very bad signal for may demand a recount. ezuela,” Ochoa said.q
areas.q ico could spell trouble for
2018,” he noted. “We are in the right,” Lo-