Judicial Elections Move Forward: INE Defines Count Rules and SCJN Clears Legal Path in Mexico

The process for Mexico's historic judicial elections continues with crucial decisions by the INE regarding voting day and the SCJN clearing legal obstacles. In Mexico City, the IECM is intensifying its information outreach to the electorate.

The early hours of Friday, May 9, 2025, witnessed important progress and clarifications in the complex framework of the election of the Federal Judiciary and the preparations for the election of the Judiciary in Mexico City.

Various electoral and judicial institutions have issued resolutions and statements outlining the progress of these unprecedented elections.

Key Definitions of the INE and the SCJN for the Federal Election The National Electoral Institute (INE) has played a central role in the organization.

President of the Council, Guadalupe Taddei, clarified a key point regarding the day of the judicial election: at the close of the day, only the progress of the vote count will be announced, and no "final results" will be offered for any of the races.

This clarification seeks to manage the expectations of citizens and political actors, highlighting the complexity of the counting process in a process of this nature. At the same time, the legal path for the federal judicial election was cleared.

The 24-hour deadline the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) had granted federal judges to revoke the suspensions they had imposed against the electoral process has expired.

The SCJN concluded that these judges lacked the authority to halt the process, thus removing the legal obstacles that threatened to delay the elections. Regarding the candidacies, the General Council of the INE made significant decisions.

The court unanimously rejected the Congress's request to cancel the registration of 26 candidates for the Judiciary who had been questioned by legislators due to alleged "bad reputations" or low academic averages.

The INE argued that it lacked the constitutional or legal authority to conduct such an assessment beyond meeting the formal requirements, and maintained that doing so would violate electoral principles.

However, the same General Council did approve the cancellation of the registration of 17 candidates who formally resigned from the race, as well as others who committed the irregularity of registering simultaneously for two different positions.

The INE also reported having received 11 citizen complaints so far through the website set up to report suspected unsuitable candidates.

In addition, a thorough review is being conducted of more than 300,000 people registered as election observers, given the possibility that some may be party members or public officials, which would prevent them from participating.

IECM Promotes Informed Participation in Mexico City At the local level, the Electoral Institute of Mexico City (IECM) continues with an intense campaign to promote citizen participation in the election of members of the capital's Judicial Branch, scheduled for June 1.

"Know Your Ballot" and the interactive digital platform of the same name, which allows citizens to familiarize themselves with ballots and practice voting.

In addition, the IECM's "Judicial Candidate System" microsite offers detailed profiles of the candidates, encouraging citizens to cast reasoned and informed votes.

The INE's insistence on transparency, the dissemination of detailed information, and Guadalupe Taddei's clarification regarding the non-disclosure of immediate "final results" on election day are indicative of a proactive effort on the part of the electoral authority.

This strategy appears to be aimed at managing citizen expectations and preventing misinformation or potential post-election crises in a process that, due to its novelty and complexity, could be susceptible to narratives of fraud or confusion.

This focus on clear communication and civic education could be interpreted as a lesson learned from previous electoral processes and an anticipation of the challenges inherent in an election of this magnitude and significance for the Mexican justice system.

The goal appears to be to build legitimacy through transparency in the process itself, rather than through the immediacy of announcing winners, laying the groundwork for greater public confidence in the results.

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