Final Election Results: Aguirre 56%, Añorve 43% of Vote
(Chilpancingo, AN, 1 February) The Guerrero State Elections Institute, through its “Program of Preliminary Election Results” or PREP, has determined that Ángel Aguirre of the “Guerrero Unites Us” coalition has officially won the election for governor of the state. He obtained 671,012 votes to Añorve’s 512,830. The PAN candidate, Marcos Parra, collected 16,081 votes, even though he had withdrawn from the race. Null votes numbered some 27,000. Voter turnout was 49.93%, slightly below the 52% registered six years earlier in the last election. Aguirre carried 24 of the 28 electoral districts of the state, including the seven electoral districts that comprise the city of Acapulco, the two each of Iguala and Chilpancingo, and Zihuatanejo. Añorve carried one district in Taxco, Coyuca, Arcelia (Tierra Caliente) and Teloloapan.
The national leader of the PRI, Beatriz Paredes, announced that at the request of candidate Manuel Añorve Baños, the party is putting together its best arguments to contest the election in Guerrero. The complaints will include the usual violations of the election law: vote buying, sabotage of the opposing party’s publicity, and intimidation. A central feature will be the “defamations” of the last days of the campaign, when rumors circulated about Añorve’s connection with organized crime and drug money. She complained again about the “unnatural” alliance of the PRD, PAN and Convergencia against the PRI.
The governor of the State of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto and vocal supporter of Añorve, distanced himself from the militant stance of the party chieftans. He said, “In a democracy, you win and you lose. I celebrate and applaud [the process]. I congratulate the winner of this contest, and I especially congratulate the people of Guerrero, for the civility with which they participated in Election Day.” He added that the most important value in a democracy is respect for the outcomes of elections. He expressed confidence that next July 3, the elections in the State of Mexico will show that the PRI has emerged victorious again, even if they have to face a PRD-PAN alliance. The lesson he drew from the Guerrero elections is that the PRI should be more inclusive and united. After all, it was a dissident member of the PRI who won the election, ironically.
In a related announcement, Ángel Aguirre announced that he would surely invite his former opponent, Manuel Añorve Baños, to join in the effort to govern the people of Guerrero, in a frank, cordial and healthy relationship. He expressed a willingness to consider campaign proposals made by Añorve as part of a plan for the new administration. The two are first cousins, friends from youth, and political allies from Aguirre’s days in the PRI. Aguirre is the godfather of Añorve’s son. Though the campaign surely was acrimonious, Aguirre, at least, is prepared to mend fences. Aguirre indicated that Añorve will be returning to his elected position of mayor of Acapulco, and in that capacity will have to work very closely with the new state governor.
