MEXICO CITY, June 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens to participate in Sunday’s judicial election, the first time the public will directly select members of the federal judiciary.
Sheinbaum hailed the vote as a “historic day” for Mexico, depicting it as a step toward building a “fair, people-centered judiciary” whose legitimacy stems from the will of the people.
“For the first time, we will all decide who we want as justices of the Supreme Court,” Sheinbaum said. “This is the great transformation our country is experiencing.”
Sheinbaum dismissed accusations that the vote could lead to executive overreach or partisan control. “Those who want to preserve a system of corruption and privilege claim the election is rigged. That is completely false,” she said.
Candidates are required to have graduated from law school with good grades and have between three and five years of experience, depending on the position they’re running for. According to data from the Federal Judicial Council, it took most sitting judges an average of between 16 and 20 years of experience to get their post.
To get on the ballot, candidates needed to be approved by selection committees made up of members of the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
For the first time in Mexico’s history, they will elect more than 2,600 judges and magistrates, including those who will sit on the Supreme Court and hundreds of other federal, state and local tribunals.
The election will move the judiciary from an appointment-based system to one in which voters will choose their judges. — NNN-AGENCIES
