Four votes against three, the Electoral Court of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF) has ordered the National Electoral Institute (INE) to register Jaime Rodríguez Calderón , “El Bronco,” as a presidential candidate upon ruling that his right to an audience had been violated, a fact which had a considerable impact on the registration process of his independent candidacy.
The INE had previously declared the application of Rodríguez Calderon invalid after deducting 387, 897 signatures for being “simulations of voter's cards” – which left “El Bronco” below the minimum number of signatures required to progress with his registration.
The core argument of Rodríguez’s defense was that his right to an audience was violated since his application was reviewed twice – the second review wasn't even part of the approved guidelines of the INE – and the INE officials unilaterally decided which signatures were valid or not.
Given that the campaign period began on March 30 and in order to offer a “comprehensive ” relief pursuant to the criteria of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the magistrates of the Electoral Court considered there was no time for a new audience or review, reason why they have ordered the INE to register Jaime Rodríguez as a presidential candidate “to maximize the political right of being voted.”
The magistrates of the Electoral Court have also ordered the INE to give Senator – and presidential hopeful – Armando Ríos Piter , a new deadline of 10 days to review the 909,000 signatures the INE deemed invalid in order to find inconsistencies, a move which could also see him registered as an official candidate.
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