Politics · Mexico · 30 mins ago
INE adviser says delayed vote materials could enable direct contracts
INE adviser Martín Faz accused former chief Guadalupe Taddei’s bloc of delaying approval of 25 election documents.
The dispute concerns the National Electoral Institute, Mexico’s election authority, and materials planned for next year’s electoral process.
Faz presented a proposal on September 3, but seven members of Taddei’s bloc rejected it and returned it for further work.
The documents came back for discussion on November 13, with 13 unchanged, 11 redesigned and one without substantial changes.
Faz said the delay left too little time for public tenders to meet contracting deadlines.
He warned the delay could help justify direct awards to suppliers, amid allegations of irregular contracts and possible conflicts of interest involving Taddei’s administration.
Taddei’s stated reason for holding up the proposal was that issues including advance voting and voting by people in pre-trial detention still needed decisions.
The council now faces questions over whether the delay was poor planning or deliberate, but the account does not say what action will follow.
INE adviser Martín Faz said delays in approving 25 electoral documents could have reduced the time available for public tenders.
He suggested the delay may have created conditions to justify direct contracts for certain companies.
The proposal was rejected by seven members of a council bloc led by then-INE president Guadalupe Taddei on September 3.
The documents returned to the INE General Council on November 13, after more than two months.
The INE’s Electoral Organization Directorate warned that deadlines for tendering related contracts had expired.
- Who
- INE adviser Martín Faz criticized the delay; former INE president Guadalupe Taddei and six other council members rejected the proposal.
- What
- Faz said the delay in approving 25 electoral documents could have enabled direct contracts instead of public tenders.
- When
- The proposal was rejected on September 3 and the documents returned to discussion on November 13.
- Where
- At the National Electoral Institute (INE) General Council in Mexico.
- Why
- Faz said the delay may have reduced the time available for tenders and created conditions to justify direct awards.
Martín Faz
Guadalupe Taddei and the seven-member council bloc
Reason for delay
Martín Faz
Faz questioned whether it was a deliberate move to reduce time for public tenders.
Guadalupe Taddei and the seven-member council bloc
Taddei said definitions related to several voting arrangements were still being developed.
Effect of delay
Martín Faz
Faz said it could have enabled a change from public tendering to direct awards.
Guadalupe Taddei and the seven-member council bloc
The bloc rejected the proposal and returned it to the INE area responsible for preparing it.
Faz presented a proposal covering the design and content of 25 electoral documents, but the council bloc rejected it and returned the file for further work.
The INE Electoral Organization Directorate warned that deadlines needed to tender contracts for the materials had expired.
The 25 documents returned to the INE General Council for discussion.
Faz criticized the delay and questioned whether it could have enabled direct awards.
- Documents in proposal
- 25 electoral documents
- Rejected
- September 3
- Council bloc
- Seven members voted against the proposal
- Returned for discussion
- November 13
- Document changes
- 13 were identical to the September proposal; 11 had image changes and one had no substantive changes
What people are saying
there are sufficient reasons to ask ourselves whether the decision to delay this approval was part of a scheme aimed at reducing the time available for tenders and creating conditions that would later allow direct awards potentially favorable to certain companies
We cannot analyze what happened as if it occurred outside the context our institute is facing today; we are going through an institutional crisis arising from serious allegations of irregularities in contracting, conflicts of interest and possible undue benefits to certain suppliers during Guadalupe Taddei’s tenure
we have an institutional obligation to examine whether we are facing a simple planning failure or a deliberate pattern
definitions related to advance voting, voting by people in pretrial detention, and, where applicable, voting by Mexicans living abroad are still being developed