UPDATE 1-Mexico's electoral court set to confirm Pena Nieto victory

Reuters:

* Leftist runner-up alleges vote buying, overspending

* Court ruling due by Thursday or Friday - electoral sources

* Evidence seen as weak, PRI victory likely to be upheld

* Charges underscore challenges facing Mexican democracy

Michael O'Boyle. MEXICO CITY, Aug 28 - Mexico's electoral court is poised to confirm President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto's victory in the July 1 ballot, despite allegations of vote buying and money laundering during the campaign, electoral officials and legal experts said.

Leftist runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who lost the presidential election by 3.3 million votes, challenged the result, alleging that Pena Nieto's party used slush funds to buy votes and breached spending limits. Read more.

Mexico’s conservative party joins leftists in demanding probe of presidential winner’s funding

In the latest development of the ongoing legal challenge to this month's presidential election, runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Gustavo Madero, national chairman of the PAN, have jointly accused the victorious PRI of laundering millions of dollars through front organizations to fund Enrique Peña Nieto's campaign and are demanding that the election be annulled.

AP: MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s conservative National Action Party said Thursday it has “strong and conclusive evidence of the use of illicit funds” in the campaign of the winner of the July 1 presidential election, Enrique Pena Nieto.

National Action leader Gustavo Madero said his group is joining with the country’s leftist parties to demand that electoral authorities investigate the use of pre-paid debit cards purportedly used by Pena Nieto’s campaign to distribute an estimated 108 million pesos ($8.2 million). That would be about a third of all the money he was legally allowed to use in the race. Read more.

Posted by Ryan Gentzler.