Leftist Lopez Obrador refuses to recognize Mexican presidential vote results

MEXICO CITY – Leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is refusing to recognize the results of Mexico’s presidential election, raising the question of whether he will launch street protests like those he used to paralyze central Mexico City after losing the 2006 vote.

Lopez Obrador says a federal electoral tribunal made an illegitimate ruling Thursday evening in favour of Enrique Pena Nieto, the candidate of the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. Lopez Obrador says he is calling a peaceful protest for Sept. 9.

It remains unclear how many people he will call into the streets. He says he wants the protest to respect the law, and he did not indicate that there would be a repeat of the blockades he launched in 2006.