Sanctions without responsibility for accordion case

Councilor Carla Humphrey stated that it was not possible to gather evidence to identify those responsible for the massive distribution of accordions during the last judicial election.

You may also be interested in: INE orders investigation into MC for accordion distribution in New Mexico

During this Monday's session, the National Electoral Institute (INE) is analyzing sanctions totaling 3 million pesos for the candidates who appeared on the accordions and won the election for receiving improper contributions, including the president-elect of the Supreme Court, Hugo Aguilar, and the three acting ministers.

Councilor Carla Humphrey noted that there are 17 draft resolutions related to the distribution of accordions, 14 of which were related to the distribution of these lists of candidates for the Judicial Branch.

The Technical Oversight Unit requested information about the accordions from printing companies, political parties, governments, and prosecutors' offices , but did not obtain sufficient information to find those responsible for the mass production and distribution of the accordions.

INE staff even called two people who were arrested in Mexico City for distributing accordions and for whom the Mexico City Electoral Crimes Prosecutor's Office did not respond.

The president of the Oversight Commission said that the massive distribution of accordions is certain, as the INE collected 336 physical copies, with 10 voting guide templates , thus confirming their existence.

The electoral authority received more than 138 formal disclaimers from candidates who appeared on the accordions and won the election, and after its investigation, the Technical Oversight Unit was unable to obtain sufficient evidence to identify those responsible for the financing, production, and distribution of millions of voting guides.

The candidates benefited from appearing in such propaganda, and despite their disassociation, they should be sanctioned, said Councilor Humphrey .

Councilor Jaime Rivera asserted that "only machinery with abundant financial resources and power could have carried out this operation, whether it be governments, political parties, unions, or criminal groups."

However, the identification of those responsible "was beyond the reach of the Oversight Unit, nor were the costs and companies, but the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Electoral Crimes has greater authority to investigate thoroughly, and we hope it does so."

This Monday, the INE is discussing fines equivalent to 10% of the personal spending limit for candidates who appeared on the accordions and won the election, with a potential fine of up to 3 million pesos.

For her part, Councilor Norma de la Cruz , was against sanctioning candidates for appearing on the accordions and asserted that it was illegal, because the only intention was to sanction the winning candidates, of which there were 121, and 115 who appeared in the voting guides but did not win would remain unscathed.

He stated that the Technical Oversight Unit 's original plan was to declare the accordion complaints unfounded, and that it was the Commission 's advisors who changed the sanctioning criteria.

You may also be interested in: INE identifies 37 types of electoral accordions

The electoral authority will also discuss today the campaign spending reports of the candidates for the federal judiciary, as well as those of 19 entities.