PAN challenges INE agreements over ballot validity and observer oversight

The National Action Party (PAN) has filed a legal challenge with the Electoral Tribunal against recent agreements made by the National Electoral Institute (INE). The party is contesting two specific criteria: the validity of “unfolded ballots” (boletas planchadas) and the decision not to cross-reference the registries of electoral observers with the databases of government officials managing social programs.

PAN representatives, including federal deputy Federico Döring, Víctor Hugo Sondón, and legal representative Santiago Torreblanca, held a press conference to argue that these changes could facilitate electoral fraud and create the conditions for a “state election.” During the briefing, party leaders used a transparent ballot box to demonstrate that unfolded ballots cannot easily pass through the slot without being marked or folded, arguing that allowing them could lead to inconsistent counting by district councils.

The party expressed concern that the INE is losing its impartiality and is instead benefiting the party in power. They have called upon the Federal Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Nation (TEPJF) to overturn these agreements to preserve the integrity of the electoral process.