Sharjah 24 – AFP: Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday proposed sweeping electoral reforms that are expected to face stiff opposition from political rivals who vowed to fight the changes.
"We want an authentic and true democracy in the country and an end to electoral fraud," Lopez Obrador told reporters.
Under his plan, the number of lower house lawmakers would be reduced from 500 to 300, eliminating those elected by proportional representation, while the number of senators would be cut from 128 to 96.
The National Electoral Institute (INE), which organises elections, would be replaced by a new body with members chosen by voters instead of lawmakers and with a smaller budget.
Lopez Obrador alleges that the INE endorsed fraud when he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2006 and 2012, before winning in 2018.
He also accused the body of undermining a divisive referendum that he promoted on whether he should step down or complete his term -- an exercise that drew only a fraction of voters to the polls this month.
Lopez Obrador's critics say he is damaging democratic checks and balances with his attacks on the INE and other institutions.
His proposals, which involve amending the constitution, require support from at least two-thirds of lower house lawmakers.
That could prove difficult for Lopez Obrador, whose ruling party and its allies hold 277 of the 500 seats and recently failed to pass his flagship electricity sector reforms.
The opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution vowed to oppose "any authoritarian attempt to weaken the INE and return to an authoritarian past where the state organized elections."
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