Mexico: Opposition leader set to be confirmed victor

Rebuffing claims of fraud, bribery and coercion in last week's presidential election, the opposition candidate Enrique Peña Nieto appeared on his way to being confirmed the victor as Mexico's electoral authorities came close to completing their formal count of the votes.

With the official count 92 per cent completed, the Federal Electoral Institute said Mr Peña Nieto of the left-of-centre Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), was maintaining a 7 per cent lead over his nearest rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, as indicated by preliminary results. Officials agreed to re-count votes cast in more than half of the ballot boxes across the country, notably where the difference between the leading two contenders was less than 1 per cent.

So far, there has been little to suggest the recounts would significantly alter the outcome. Final certification of the results is due on Sunday. Still swirling, however, are allegations that the PRI manipulated the elections, through measures such as distributing 18 million gift cards to voters who showed photographs on their mobile phones of having marked their ballots for Mr Peña Nieto.