Neither the Covid-19 pandemic or pre-election violence stopped the voter turnout in the more than 162 thousand squares installed for the election day of this Sunday, June 6.
Mouth covers, antibacterial gel and a discreet healthy distance, were the common denominator among voters and poll workers who, from an early hour, began the task of installing polling stations.
The extra ingredient: sanitary measures
This Sunday, the health contingency due to the Covid-19 pandemic integrated an extra ingredient to the midterm elections of this 2021, considered the largest and most complex due to the election of 15 governorships, renewal of the Chamber of Deputies, 30 local Congresses and two thousand municipal presidencies.
As he planned National Electoral Institute (INE), additional measures were taken to avoid contagion by Covid-19 such as the mandatory use of face masks, temperature measurement, ensuring that there is a healthy distance, disinfection of polls every time a voter passes and minimal contact.
Photo: After each vote, boxes are disinfected at the Guadalupe Victoria Police Agency in Oaxaca
Photo: Marks are installed to save the Sana Distancia in a square in Oaxaca
Photo: application of antibacterial gel to voter at the voting booth in Mexico City
Meanwhile, long lines of citizens can already be seen seeking to cast their vote. Several, very cautious, formed from six in the morning to be among the first and avoid the crowds.
In Hacienda del Ciervo, Huixquilucan #Edomex, thousands go to vote in polls where the governor will vote @alfredodelmazo. #Video: Rebeca Jiménez pic.twitter.com/CJdhMMVRM0
– El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) June 6, 2021
#EnVideo This is how the voting in the city of #Oaxaca; Long lines at the Guadalupe Victoria agency, where Governor Alejandro Murat has to vote, but with sanitary measures given the risk of Covid-19
Edwin Hernandez. THE UNIVERSAL pic.twitter.com/ale7d51JbI
– El Universal Oaxaca (@ElUniversalOax) June 6, 2021
There is no fear, they go out to vote
As could be expected, some polling stations had delays in their installation. For example, in Mexico City, delays were reported in the installation of polling stations in municipalities such as Álvaro Obregón and Cuauhtémoc.
Two hours into the voting, only 93.1% of the polls had been installed, which caused concern in the electoral representatives of the opposition, because the Electoral Institute of Mexico City (IECM) did not explain the reason why they had not been installed 100%.
Some incidents were also reported, such as in Oaxaca with the burning of facilities of the Municipal Electoral Council as a form of protest against the State Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute of Oaxaca (IEEPCO), however, this has not caused people to stop voting.
Candidates and officials cast their vote
Candidates and officials also gathered at the polling stations. The president of Mexico himself, Andrés Manuel López Obrador he cast his vote in a booth installed to one side of the National Palace, where he is officially domiciled.
Upon arriving at the box, President López Obrador was given gel and put on a face mask, mandatory hygiene measures to prevent Covid-19 infections https://t.co/vRRiomAT5b
– El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) June 6, 2021
After voting for the mayoral candidate Cuauhtémoc, as well as for local and federal deputies, the President expressed: “Long live democracy!”
For its part, Olga Sánchez Cordero, head of the Ministry of the Interior said that huge lines have been registered in the boxes.
“It has really been a first-rate civic call,” he stressed.
# TheMostGreatElection | @M_OlgaSCordero reports an opening of boxes in peace and quiet pic.twitter.com/oKfGmv3oWv
– El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) June 6, 2021
In Mexico City, in a polling place in Tlalpan, the head of government also cast her vote, Claudia Sheinbaum, who said confident that the citizens of the capital will go out to vote on June 6.
“I trust that people will go out to vote. So far we have no reported incidents and we trust that this will continue,” said Claudia Sheinbaum while waiting her turn.
So did candidates who caused controversy in electoral campaigns such as Samuel Garcia in Nuevo León or Evelyn Salgado in Guerrero.
Read also: Elections in Mexico: 3 keys to understanding the importance of intermediate
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