OVERVIEW OF THE MEXICAN ELECTORAL REGIME JUNE 2014

1. The origin How to build trust and credibility when elections are widely perceived as fraudulent? That was the big challenge that Mexico faced after a reiterated crisis of trust in the elections hit bottom in The systematic efforts made and the huge resources invested to overcome and reverse this situation explain the Mexican experience over the last two decades.

2. The response After the 1988 election, a wide consensus emerged: the electoral institutions, laws and procedures had to be fully revamped to cope with and reverse a dramatic crisis of credibility. A cycle of constitutional and legal amendments started in In 1990 a complete new electoral law was enacted, and the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) was created as a key element of the new electoral institutional design.

3. The EMB nature and scope IFE was conceived as a public, autonomous and independent institution, vested with ample powers to organize, conduct, and oversee federal elections: Boundary delimitation Voter registration Registration of parties and candidates Oversight of parties, campaign financing and expenses Administration and allocation of state time on radio and tv Designing and printing of all electoral materials Selection and training of polling officers Regulating electoral observation and electoral polls Providing preliminary and official results Solving some complaints and imposing sanctions Civic education

INE replaced IFE earlier this year as a result of a constitutional amendments that greatly modified the federal pact on electoral matters. INE inherited, in essence, the atribbutes and organic structure of the IFE, but has also expanded the scope and range of its powers. INE has also responsibilities related to the organization and regulation of local elections. 4. The institutional layout

Ruled by five core principles: certainty, legality, independence, impartiality and objectivity (maximum transparency) HQ in the capital city but exerts its powers and delivers its services through 332 decentralized units in all the national territory Its organic structure is ample and complex, but three types of bodies can be highlighted: directive (councils), executive (boards/ professional service), and technical (international affairs) 4. The institutional layout

The General Council is the main directive body Eleven voting members: president and ten electoral councilors elected by two thirds of the deputies. Expertise and no party affiliation A variable number of non voting members (currently 15): one representative from each political party; one representative from each parlamentary group, and the Executive Secretary of the institution. 5. The directive body

The General Board is the main executive body. It is chaired by the President Councilor, and includes the Executive Secretary, and the heads of the six main executive areas of the institution: Voter registry Political parties Electoral organization Professional electoral service Electoral training and civic education Administration 6. The executive bodies

The heads of the central technical units are also represented in the General Executive Board: Social communication International affairs Center for democratic development Legal affairs IT services Information and documentation services Secretariat Oversight of political parties’ resources unit General comptroller 7. The technical units

In essence, and until the recent constitutional amendment, every federal entity had its own electoral laws, institutions and procedures. The voters’ registry and rolls are federal, thus, are produced by INE and are used for all types of elections country wide. According to an amendment introduced in 2009, IFE could organize local elections upon request from the local authorities. 8. The relation of the INE with local electoral authorities

The INE organizes and conducts federal elections along the same lines that IFE did, but will also exert responsibilities over the local elections, including: districting; regulations on electoral surveys, and electoral observation; provision of preliminary results and oversight of parties and campaign finances, among other issues. 9. The new institutional design

Local EMBs have not disappeared, but their powers have beenreduced, and the members of their directive body will be appointed by the INE´s General Council. The INE’s General Council is made up of 11 voting members: one president and ten councilors, elected by two thirds of the deputies for a nine year term. New causes for nullification of an election: surpassing the expenses limit by more than 5%; purchasing air time for electoral advertising and illegal funding. 9. The new institutional design

Carlos Navarro International Affairs Unit INE June 2014