Mexico court rejects bid to scrap presidential vote

Mexico's electoral tribunal unanimously rejected a left-wing bid to overturn the July 1 presidential election victory of Enrique Pena Nieto. "The request to invalidate the election is groundless," court president Jose Alejandro Luna Ramos said after the seven judges voted to reject the bid presented by leftist runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The tribunal dismissed claims by Lopez Obrador that the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) bought millions of votes and exceeded campaign spending limits to secure Pena Nieto's victory. The ruling clears the way for Pena Nieto to be formally declared president-elect and begin his six-year term on December 1, returning the PRI to power after a 12-year absence. Pena Nieto, who has rejected his opponent's allegations, won the election with 38.2 percent of the vote compared to 31.6 percent for Lopez Obrador, who lost by 3.3 million ballots. Lopez Obrador claimed that the PRI bought five million votes, including by distributing gift cards for a retail store. His coalition also charged that children were sent to polling stations to check how people voted. "There is no proof of vote buying, there is no proof of coercion," said Judge Flavio Galvan Rivera. Pena Nieto will succeed President Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN), whose six-year term has been overshadowed by a drug war that has left more than 50,000 people dead. Calderon could not run due to term limits.