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Preliminary Report of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Mexico

The full Preliminary Report is available here.

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM) , headed by former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Heraldo Muñoz, congratulates the people of Mexico for holding the largest federal and local elections in the history of the country on Sunday, June 2. Approximately 56 million Mexican citizens exercised their right to vote to elect 20,708 federal, state, and municipal officials.

The OAS/EOM highlights the historic result of this election given that, for the first time in 200 years, a woman will be President of the Republic in Mexico. The Mission congratulates the presidential candidate of the Sigamos Haciendo Historia coalition, Claudia Sheinbaum, for her resounding victory. It also welcomes the fact that the presidential contenders who lost at the polls accepted the official results when they were published by the National Electoral Institute (INE), demonstrating both maturity and commitment to the democratic principles underlying political systems.

The Mission highlights the professionalism and technical reliability exhibited by the INE and the Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Federation (TEPJF), institutions that were vital to ensure the success of the elections. It also recognizes the work of the members of the polling stations -who safeguard the vote-, and that of the election officials, representatives of the political parties, national observers, and the security forces.

The OAS/EOM believes that electoral institutions must continue to be strengthened to reflect the civic maturity of the population, which will increase the confidence of all citizens.

Election day, on Sunday, June 2, when more than 98 million people were called to the polls, went by without major incidents. However, the Mission regrets and strongly condemns the acts of violence that occurred during the electoral campaign directed against would-be candidates, pre-candidates, and candidates, as well as isolated acts on election day against polling place officials, voters, and electoral material. It also expresses its concern about the inhibiting effects that electoral violence has on Mexican democracy.

The OAS/EOM consisted of 97 people of 24 nationalities to observe the process in Mexico's 32 states and in five cities in three foreign countries (Canada, Spain, and the United States). In the course of its deployment, it examined various aspects of the elections, including electoral organization; voting abroad; electoral technology; campaign finance; electoral justice; the political participation of women; electoral violence; the participation of indigenous peoples and persons of African descent; and campaigns, media, and digital communication. The Mission’s specialists also followed up on the recommendations issued by previous OAS Missions.

The Mission’s members began arriving in the country on May 22, 2024. During its stay, the Mission met with a number of political actors, electoral and government authorities, candidates and representatives of civil society organizations in order to familiarize itself with the preparations and gather perspectives on the elections. Based on these meetings, exhaustive analysis of the regulations and other relevant documents, as well as direct observation, a comprehensive analysis of the electoral process was carried out, maintaining the principles of objectivity and neutrality, the non-substitution of national actors in the process, respect for domestic law, and guaranteeing independence and transparency, among other principles that govern the work of OAS Electoral Observation Missions.

PRE-ELECTORAL PHASE

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The full Preliminary Report is available here.

Reference: S-009/24