Vote Tally Continues in Mexico

From the Washington Post:

Mexico began a marathon review of vote tallies Wednesday to determine whether conservative candidate Felipe Calderon really won the tight presidential race, while his leftist challenger insisted he was victorious and denounced what he called widespread irregularities.

A preliminary count showed Calderon, of President Vicente Fox's conservative National Action Party, ahead by just 1 percentage point. Charismatic leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is demanding a recount of every ballot, saying he plans to prove he defeated Calderon.

"The political stability of the country hangs in the balance," he said Wednesday.

Federal Electoral Institute President Luis Carlos Ugalde said late Tuesday that 2.6 million votes were not included in the preliminary count because of "inconsistencies," such as poor handwriting or extraneous marks on the tally sheets attached outside each ballot box. Lopez Obrador had initially said those 2.6 million were "missing."

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--Tom Hayes