Chiapas local and state elections were scheduled for October 4. Seats at stake included 111 mayors and 40 representatives to the state legislature (24 elected by district and 16 awarded on the basis of proportional representation.) However, one week before the vote, the State Electoral Council (CEE) decided to suspend elections in eight counties and three districts in the area devastated by the torrential rains in the first week of September. A number of organizations and political leaders had argued that the elections should be postponed for all of Chiapas.

Victory for the PRI

Clearly the PRI (the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party) was the big winner in the elections. It won 18 of 21 state representative districts and 82 of 102 mayoral seats where the voting took place. The center-left PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution) won 15 counties and one legislative district, and the center-right PAN (National Action Party) won five counties and two legislative districts. In the conflicted highlands, jungle and northern region of Chiapas, the PRD did not win a single county and even lost those it had previously held. Now those areas will be governed exclusively by the PRI.

The fact that the elections were held in only 21 of 24 districts caused a heated discussion among the political parties regarding the distribution of the 16 state legislative seats awarded on the basis of proportional representation. According to the opposition parties, the law prohibited the distribution of the seats based on results from only 21 of the 24 districts. However, the CEE approved a plan whereby two seats were set aside, pending the outcome of elections in the disaster area. Of the remainder, the PRI received seven seats, giving it a majority of 25. The PRD received four, giving it a total of five. And the PAN received three, giving it a total of five as well. Two other parties have one representative each.

No guarantees for clean elections

Prior to the vote, the non-governmental organization Civic Alliance observed that in 14 of the 24 electoral districts, at least one of the minimal conditions listed by the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the realization of free, authentic and fair elections was not assured. Those 14 districts are located in the conflict area and in the area affected by the flooding. The high overall level of abstention (around 54%) tends to support the Civic Alliance conclusion that, “…to continue the current course, the electoral process will not achieve its basic function, and it may instead become a factor that postpones the possibility of achieving the minimal agreement between the various political and social forces that the situation in Chiapas makes so urgent.”

San Juan Chamula impedes the vote

The polling took place without serious incidents, except in the county of San Juan Chamula. There, the local authorities impeded the installation of the 59 polling places in order to force the liberation of five prisoners detained on a variety of charges, including murder. According to the traditionalist Catholic authorities there, the detained are political prisoners. It should be noted that the voting in San Juan Chamula always has favored the PRI.

During the morning, 1000 Indians gathered in the main plaza of the county seat for a spontaneous meeting. The local authorities obliged all businesses to close. In the plaza there were large banners with slogans against the “Protestant sects.” The road to San Andres was blocked for a short period, and a toll was requested of passing drivers. Around midday, after a brief speech by the authorities, the people left the plaza and the businesses re-opened.

The prohibition of voting in San Juan Chamula cast doubt on the validity of the vote for the state legislature representative, since less than 80% of the polling places in that district were in place. However, the CEE accepted the results and awarded the seat to the PRI candidate who had won in the other counties of the district.

Observers and political parties denounce irregularities

Observers and political parties charged that some polling places opened late, mistakes were made by election officials due to inadequate training, and illegal campaign propaganda was evident in or around voting sites. In the area of Tapachula, state police conducted interrogations of election officials.

The EZLN issued a communiqué on October 2 in which it said it would not obstruct the elections. Hence there was no burning of ballots or polling places by EZLN supporters, as had occurred in the previous elections. However, many communities of Zapatista supporters chose not to vote.

In the northern region, the elections took place in a climate of tension because of the presence of the paramilitary group Peace and Justice. PRD representatives reported irregularities. For example, they asserted that PRI election officials examined ballots and compiled a “black list” of names of those who voted for the PRD.

In Nicolas Ruiz, where the PRD won, PRI supporters denounced irregularities committed by election officials. In Venustiano Carranza, the PRD reported illegal campaigning and vote buying by PRI supporters.

In a press conference two days after the elections, three opposition parties (PRD, PAN and Democratic Party of Chiapas) charged that in Ocosingo, conditions did not exist for clean elections, and consequently they did not recognize the results. With an abstention level of 74% in that county (which includes large areas of strong Zapatista support), the PRI won with 52% of the vote. The three parties noted that as a result, the legitimacy of the government rests on the support of 13% of the registered voters and therefore, the government lacks credibility. They also charged that there had been death threats against members of the opposition, transporting of voters using government equipment, and cases of vote-buying by the PRI, for example by offering assistance through PROCAMPO (a governmental program for rural development).

The campaign and the communications media

Civic Alliance of Chiapas published an investigation of campaign coverage by the communications media. The investigation took place over two weeks in August. Key findings included the disproportionate coverage given to the PRI as opposed to other political parties in three media outlets. Red Radio Chiapas dedicated 45% of its coverage to the PRI while the corresponding figure for radio station XEWM was 68%. The newspaper Cuarto Poder dedicated 70% of its coverage to the PRI. Regarding the actual content of the coverage, in general the report did not find a preference for a particular party.