Before the election was annulled, the voting was reconstructed using the ballot sheets and other documents, but this was only possible in 17 of the 36 lost or destroyed ballot packets. This means that the voting was only certain in 43 polling stations, which is 58% of the total. The local court therefore determined that there were no elements to be certain of the results.
“Since more than half of the electoral packages and material were affected by armed groups, which resulted in the impossibility of reconstructing the fundamental data of the election day, such violations are considered decisive because they directly affected the results obtained in the election of members of the municipal council, and consequently because the real will of the citizens on equal terms is not reflected in the determination of the responsible authority,” states the resolution endorsed by the Court.
The leader of Morena in Hidalgo, Marco Antonio Rico Mercado, pointed out that in the annulment of the municipal election, violence was put before the popular will
“When electoral authorities allow violence to interfere with this process, a dangerous precedent is set that undermines the basic principles of democratic governance. Such situations send an alarming message to society: force and intimidation can prevail over law and justice. Violence then becomes an effective tool for those seeking to manipulate electoral results,” he said on his social networks.
