One victim died in Coyomeapan; the other was killed in a shoot-out in Tlapanala. Mexicans are voting on Sunday in the shadow of cartel violence, with 2 women leading the contest.
Two people died on Sunday after attacks on polling stations in the central Mexican state of Puebla during a general election, a local government security source told Agence France-Presse.
One of the victims died after unknown assailants entered a polling site in Coyomeapan to steal election papers, while the other was killed in a shoot-out after an attack on a polling station in Tlapanala, the person said.
Voting was suspended in Coyomeapan, the state electoral authority said.
Mexicans are voting on Sunday in historic elections weighing gender, democracy and populism, as they chart the country’s path forward shadowed by cartel violence.
With two women leading the contest, Mexico is likely to elect its first female president – a major step in a country long marked by its macho culture. The election is also the biggest in the country’s history.
More than 20,000 congressional and local positions are up for grabs, according to the National Electoral Institute.
Voters are choosing between a former academic who promises to continue outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s populist policies and an ex-senator and tech entrepreneur who pledges to up the fight against drug cartels. A third, male candidate from a smaller party had focused his attention on the youth vote.
Turnout appeared to be high, with long queues of voters trying to cast their ballots early as much of the country continued to suffer a heatwave.
Nearly 100 million people are registered to vote in the race to replace outgoing Lopez Obrador. Voters were also electing governors in nine of the country’s 32 states, and choosing candidates for both houses of Congress, thousands of mayorships and other local posts.
The elections are widely seen as a referendum on Lopez Obrador, a populist who has expanded social programmes but largely failed to reduce cartel violence in Mexico.
His Morena party currently holds 23 of the 32 governorships and a simple majority of seats in both houses of Congress.
