Mexico's leftists elect leader of parallel gov't

Xinhuanet
Sep. 18, 2006

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of thousands of supporters of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador elected him as "legitimate president" of a parallel government on Saturday in protest against the allegedly flawed July presidential elections.

The vote of a show of hands took place in the capital's Zocalo square, just hours after a military parade marked Mexico's Independence Day on Sept. 15-16.

The supporters, whose number was estimated by organizers at 750,000 to 1 million, joined a National Democratic Convention, during which Lopez Obrador was to spell out his policy.

The supporters also voted to have Lopez Obrador sworn in on Nov. 20, before the president-elect Felipe Calderon is inaugurated on Dec. 1.

The vote capped weeks of protests by supporters of Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, who was defeated by Calderon, candidate of the ruling National Action Party, by a slim margin of 0.56 percent in the July 2 presidential elections.

Lopez Obrador alleged massive fraud during the electoral process and demanded a vote-by-vote recount.

However, Mexico's top electoral court, the Electoral Tribunal, declared Calderon president-elect last week, rejecting Lopez Obrador's appeal.

The leftist's supporters had removed blockades from the Zocalo square and some major roads to allow the traditional military parade for the Independence Day celebrations to go ahead.

The gathering also forced incumbent President Vicente Fox to inaugurate the celebrations outside the capital, because of concerns over possible clashes with Lopez Obrador's supporters. Enditem