Sawt Falasteen - Ruling party-aligned judges set to dominate Mexico Supreme Court

The vote comes after a contentious overhaul made Mexico the first country in the world to select all their judges via the ballot box.

The enormous democratic exercise asked voters to choose more than 880 federal judges as well as fill hundreds of local and magistrate positions.

Despite confusion and low turnout -- with only about 13 percent of eligible voters participating -- President Claudia Sheinbaum declared the election a success.

Her opponents, however, branded it a "farce" and warned the process would consolidate the ruling party's power.

Sheinbaum's Morena party already dominates both houses of Congress.

With 87 percent of ballots counted by late Monday night, judges aligned with the Morena party looked to be ahead in the Supreme Court race.

But preliminary results also showed Hugo Aguilar, a member of the Mixtec Indigenous group and former advisor to the Zapatista guerrilla movement, on track to head the top court.

The constitutional law specialist was leading over Lenia Batres, a Morena party member and appointee of former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

- 'Answer to the people' -

Lopez Obrador initiated the judicial reform after repeatedly clashing with the courts as they blocked several of his flagship initiatives.

Mexico's Congress, dominated by Morena party lawmakers, fast-tracked the overhaul during the leftist leader's final months in office, despite critics' concerns that it would undermine checks and balances and leave judges more vulnerable to criminal influence.

The majority of Mexico's Supreme Court justices quit over the reform and declined to stand for election.

Sheinbaum, Lopez Obrador's successor, has championed the overhaul as much-needed to clean up a judiciary mired in corruption.

On Monday, she downplayed the low turnout, arguing that 13 million Mexicans casting ballots was more representative than the previous process, which saw senators select Supreme Court justices from a shortlist prepared by the president.

"Mexico is the most democratic country in the world," she said.

Sheinbaum also pushed back at claims that she would end up controlling the judiciary.

"Now the judges, magistrates and justices answer to the people," she said.

Results are expected to roll in through June 10.

- 'Dark day' -

The leader of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Alejandro Moreno, denounced the vote as a "farce" and called it a "dark day for democracy."

The elections showed Sheinbaum's Morena party was "willing to do anything to concentrate power. They weaken the justice system, trample on institutions, and block the way to democratic debate," he said.

Hundreds of opponents of the reforms marched through the capital waving flags and banners with slogans including: "Hands off our democracy" and "No to electoral fraud."

The elections will send the judiciary "to its grave," said Ismael Novela, a 58-year-old company worker.

"It was the last counterweight we had against the totalitarianism of the executive branch."

But many voters were mystified by the sheer complexity of the process, with a long list of largely unknown candidates vying for around 2,600 judicial positions.

"They put forward X person but we do not know their trajectory, their dedication, what they have done, and... who is behind them, or if they are alone," said Gerardo Ramirez, a 63-year-old newsstand worker in Mexico City.

In the western state of Jalisco, 63-year-old housewife Maria Estrada said she used her "intuition" because she did not know the candidates.

Arturo Giesemann, a 57-year-old retiree in Mexico City, said his main reason for voting was "the disgust I have with the current judiciary because of its corruption."

- 'High risk' judges -

Opponents warned that elected judges could be more vulnerable to pressure from criminals, in a country where powerful drug cartels regularly use bribery and intimidation to influence officials.

Rights group Defensorxs identified around 20 candidates it considered "high risk," including Silvia Delgado, a former lawyer for Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Another aspiring judge, in Durango state, spent almost six years in prison in the United States for drug crimes, despite an official requirement for a clean criminal record.

Candidates were also supposed to have a law degree, experience in legal affairs and what is termed "a good reputation."

Another election for the remainder of Mexico's judicial positions will be held in 2027.

I.Matar--SF-PST