Mexico’s ruling party leads in mid-term elections

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO (AA) - Mexicans headed to the polls Sunday to cast their ballots in the country’s mid-term elections, with preliminary results showing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s National Regeneration Movement party (Morena) as the winner.

So far, electoral authorities have reported a total of 10,548,094 votes, with the ruling party Morena party accounting for 35% or 3,710,880. They are leading in the lower House of Representatives and eight state governorships as reported by the party's president, Mario Delgado.

"The information we have tells us that the people have the majority in the Chamber of Deputies. We confirm that Morena is once again the leading political force in the country. It is absolutely clear that in Mexico, there is a majority of the people,"said Delgado.

Opposition political parties the National Action Party (PAN) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) are in second and third place, respectively.

According to media exit polls such as El Financiero newspaper’s, voting intentions are leaning towards the Morena party and its allies, with 47% of preference, in contrast with the opposition group comprised of the PRI, PAN and Party of Democratic Revolution (PRD), which reported a preference of 44%.

The final outcome will determine the country's political structure for the remaining three years of President Lopez Obrador's administration. With the control of Congress in dispute, the election results are critical for Lopez Obrador's agenda for the country.