Voters in Tlaquepaque go back to the polls Sunday, November 21, to elect a mayor and City Council after the state Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) declared last June’s election null and void.
The TEPJF concurred with complaints filed by loosing candidates that a video posted by Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, the former archbishop of Guadalajara and a Tlaquepaque resident, in which he urged citizens not to vote for candidates who endorsed legal abortion, may have influenced the result of the tight election.
Both the winner of the June 6 election, Mirna Citlalli Amaya de Luna of the Movimiento Ciudadano (MC), and runner-up, Alberto Maldonado Chavarin of the Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional (Morena), are once again expected to contend for the top spot. The winning margin in the void election was 2,529 votes.
In October, the State Electoral Institute ruled that due to gender balance regulations, only female candidates would be allowed to run in the new election. However, this was challenged and overturned in the courts, thus allowing Maldonado to run again.
Ten candidates are registered for the November 21 election.