Mexico poll chief resigns over graft

MEXICO CITY:

The head of Mexico's National Electoral Institute will resign amid allegations of corruption, a decision President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she supports.

INE chief Guadalupe Taddei's resignation is the most high-profile departure tied to alleged corruption in Sheinbaum's two-year-old presidency.

The move raises fresh questions over the credibility and leadership of the autonomous electoral authority as it prepares for the 2027 midterms and after lawmakers rejected Sheinbaum's broader attempt to reform Mexico's electoral system earlier this year. Lawmakers later supported a narrower package of electoral changes.

"There couldn't be this shadow of a conflict of interest. It's good that she made the decision to step aside," Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference, while rejecting the notion that the resignation pointed to a political crisis. Mexico's Superior Audit Office is investigating alleged irregularities involving INE contracts, including possible conflicts of interest and the triangulation of public funds. Taddei, in local news outlets, has been accused of favoring an INE contractor, with whom she has a personal relationship, with contracts worth millions of dollars. Reuters