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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-
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